Love and War
by UltraRae78
Summary: A mysterious world in an unexplored galaxy,known as Salamandria, is occupied by serpent like creatures,and is over run by an extremely overbearing, cruel queen, who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Which at this point happens to be a mate. But what happens when the one she chooses is not willing to cooperate? Will this queen be out for blood? Read and find out!
1. Chapter 1

Far off in deep space, about two hundred light years from the land of light, there laid a mysterious collar

system known as the cosmic ocean. It was called this because of it's odd bright blue coloring. And in this

sector laid many stars and many planets, most of which at this point remain unexplored by the

Ultramen. One of these planets, however, was about to create a rather large situation for the Ultramen.

One of which could possibly be the most unusual they've ever been faced with.

Numerous planets are interspersed across the Cosmic ocean galaxy, but one certain planet, named

Salamandria, was bigger and more powerful in armed forces than any other. It's occupied by a strong

humanoid serpent like species ,surnamed the Salamandrians. Their ruled over by their beautiful, yet

fierce and cruel queen, Nephthys.

Queen Nephthys, as a tyrant ruler, is oppressive, vicious, and always set on getting her way. Anyone

who said she should get otherwise, never lasted long. Her physical appearance, however, was one of

great beauty and stature. Like all Salamandrians, her skin was median to light green, and her hair was

black as coal and went all the way down to her lower back. Her eyes were completely green with black

slits for pupils very much like a snake. In addition to her long dark eye lashes and blood colored lips, she

wore numerous ear piercings on both ears. Her attire, which was less than modest, consisted of a red

decorative top which came up to half way up her midsection. And her bottom was an elegant pair of red

silk leggings which opened up on the outer sides coming from the bottom almost all the way to the top.

Her outward continence unfortunately, is only skin deep.

On a certain day within the Salamandrian kingdom, a decree was sent out by the queen to all the far off

provinces from without the cosmic ocean galaxy. The official decree announced that the queen was

presently of need of an acceptable suitor. A mate that is. One which would cause both their kingdoms

to unite and rule along side her.

Naturally there were hundreds of alien rulers who were eager to jump at the opportunity. Alien males

from all across the galaxy anxiously flocked toward Salamandria with high hopes of being chosen by the

legendary beautiful queen of the Salamandrians. But these unsuspecting suitors literally had no idea of

the challenges they were about to endure.

One by one, each eligible suitor would come in to the kingdoms throne room and be presented to the

queen, as she sat on her large gold and jewel plated throne. One of the first ones to enter was a high

delegate of the planet Zarab. The queen sat with a cold unemotional expression as he entered .

"Ah, my queen!" he said with a confident bow. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am ruler amundo from

the planet Zarab. I have come in response to your decree requesting a suitor."

"Is that so?" Queen Nephthys responded coldly.

"Yes, and may I say that your even more beautiful than previously described."

The Queen merely huffed in her own conceit before saying, "Tell me, how many kingdoms have you

conquered lately? Or does your kind do anything other than try to gain status by going around and

kissing up to authorities?"

"Your majesty I-"

"Well answer the question!" the queen demanded. "How have your species done in previous battles?!"

"Well.." the Zarab Alien looked nervous now. "We have had a few successful invasions,..or almost

successful. But you see the ones always getting in the way are the Ul-"

"Enough!" the queen shouted jumping up from her throne. "Away with him!" she ordered to the guards

by the entrance.

"What?!"the alien said, shocked by her harsh order.

"One who cannot fight in battle to defend his own world has no place in my kingdom!" she raved on just

as the two largely built guards each took Zarab by an arm and dragged him out of the throne room.

This same scene went on all day. Each time a hopeful suitor would come in, and each time he would be

rejected and dragged out in the same manner. There was not one that the queen found even remotely

suitable. Everyone who came in she found either to weak, to incompetent, or just to plain ignorant.

Eventually the queen had had enough and stormed off to her private quarters in anger.

Upon entering her large, but fancy living quarters, the queen crossed her arms, paced up and down the

floor for a second and then in a fit of uncontrollable rage, grabbed a glass vase from her dresser and

hauled it across the room, causing it to shatter. Upon hearing the noise one of her male servants came

to the door."Is everything alright your highness?"

"No, everything is not alright!" the queen snapped. "Every one of those so called suitors, are a joke!

Their all weak, pathetic maggots, and I refuse to be mated to any of them!"

"But your highness, the counsel board says you must marry in order to strengthen the kingdom in times

of war."

The queen almost screamed at that, while continuing to pace the floor.

"Ah, I know! But I need a mate who's a true warrior. One with strength! And those pathetic excuses for

warriors wouldn't last a second in battle!" the queen then walks over to her large window terrace and

shouts, "Is there no suitor in this entire universe worthy of matrimony!"

"Beg your pardon your majesty, but there may be an easier way to pursue your search," the male

servant calmly spoke.

"For instance?" the queen asked crossing her arms moodily.

"You could request the assistance of Anubis."

The queen thought about this for awhile and then nodded in agreement.

"Very well."

In the highest room of the palace there stood in the center, a sternly built platform with a type of round

metal object sitting on top of it. When the queen approached, she called out, "Anubis!" And

immediately the round object began to let off this humming sound, then all of a sudden the object

began to part in two revealing a bright blue light which engulfed the whole room. After a moment a

voice spoke.

"Yes, my queen. What is it that you desire?" said a deep mysterious voice.

"I am of need of a suitor," the queen paused a moment. "I wish for you to locate one which is worthy

and will please me."

"I shall try my queen."

Anubis then began showing moving projections of numerous aliens warriors from across the galaxy

many of which hadn't already been rejected by the queen. One by one the queen looked them over as

they appeared on the screen, each battling some opposing force, which at least enabled the queen to

observe their level of physical strength. But being extremely picky the queen was still unable to find one

to her liking. That is until all of a sudden she saw one that seemed different from all the rest. His physical

strength and fighting ability was incredibly. The queen watched with fascination, as he fought and

defeated a whole army of monstrous creatures all on his own with amazing strength and agility. He was

like nothing she had ever seen before. Possibly for the first time in her entire reign, she was actually

impressed by someone other than herself. Just when Anubis was switching the screen to something else

the Queen quickly interjected.

"Wait! Go back!"

Anubis immediately obliged and put the other being back to the screen.

"Him! He's the one!"

"Are you certain your majesty?"

"Yes, he's the one I want!" The queen took a moment to further look over the frozen image of the one

she had chosen and noted that his physical appearance was by far the most unique compared to any

other suitor she had encountered."What is his species?"

"Some call them beings of light from planet Nebula M78, also referred to as the Land of Light."

"Being of light?" This odd name further fascinated the queen. "Very well. What is his given name?"

"It's Ultraman Zero."


	2. Chapter 2

Zero stood from the top of a rocky cliff, wearing a look of satisfaction, as he scanned the barren

landscape below. Barren that is, except for about a hundred or so robotic drone like creatures, spread

out in various blown up, and demolished pieces. They hadn't been much of a challenge compared to

some of Zero's previous monster encounters, but he still enjoyed the sport of it just the same. There

actually hadn't been many planetary invasions lately in the area. The most recent infiltration of the land

of light had been with those guys from a place called Twilloh, or whatever. And even that was about

four months ago. Not that Zero was unhappy about having a time of planetary peace, it's just that he

missed the excitement of a truly good battle. But one was sure to come up sooner or later. Most likely

sooner.

Seeing that there was nothing left to be done, Zero took off for home. By going at his usual fast speed, it

only took him a few minutes before the land of light came into few. Upon entering the planet's

atmosphere, Zero then proceeded straight to the space garrison headquarters. He was immediately

greeted by his dad, Ultra seven, who had been waiting for him.

"Zero" Seven said, "You have defeated the Tromiton army?"

"Yeah," Zero said with a bored sigh.

"Something wrong?"

"No, it's just that nothings a challenge anymore. Those guys were just way too easy," Zero spoke rather arrogantly while crossing his arms.

"Son," Seven's tone was serious, "Just because we have been fortunate enough to have a time of peace doesn't mean you should let down your guard. You should always be prepared for what may come next, no matter what that may be."

Zero reluctantly gave a nod in agreement before turning to leave, when Seven interjected, "Are you going out on patrol again?"

"Uh, no," Zero answered, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, "There's just some place I need to be."

Seven looked at his son's odd reaction for a moment before responding, "Very well. Just make sure your on time for the briefing later."

"Uh, yeah sure," Zero said, relieved that his dad didn't try to push the issue. He then quickly left, before he was late.

Seven watched as Zero flew off in a hurry to wherever he was going. And the reason he didn't ask where was because he already knew. He was meeting a girl.

ANOTHER LOCATION: Salamandria

Queen Nephthys stood on a risen platform within an oval shaped room resembling a court room as her whole counsel board gathered to hear her statement. They stood eagerly in anticipation as the queen looked through the group of board members to be sure that she had their full attention. After a moment she began to speak.

"Members of my counsel, you will all be pleased to hear that I have finally selected a suitable mate for your king," the queen watched the counsel's reaction of satisfaction and relief, before continuing, "He is a strong warrior from a world known as the land of light."

Upon hearing that, most of group went silent, while some murmured to each other. Before Nephthys could question this, one of the high members of the board stepped forward and with a look of uncertainty asked, "Your majesty, are you referring to the home world of the Ultramen?"

"Yes, I believe that is what they are called. Why? Do you dare question my decision?!" she asked harshly.

"No, of course not your majesty. It's just that there are many legends of these powerful beings from across the galaxy. I hear that they have fought and defeated innumerable alien forces, in ways which I am unable to describe. They are rumored to be one of the most dominant existing species in the universe! Such power could easily pose a threat to the kingdom!"

The queen paused a moment, looking less than pleased by this profound statement, then responded sharply, "Well, then wouldn't you agree that it would be most ideal to have these people as our allies, rather than our enemy?!"

"But, your majesty, I-"

"Silence!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, sending the entire room into frozen silence, "I have already made my decision, and if you value your life you will accept it! Understood?!"

The high board member merely bowed his head in submission.

"Does anyone else dare to doubt my judgment?!" The board remained silent. "Then have a message sent to the land of light, immediately."


	3. Chapter 3

Zero flew to the top of a very tall building and landed on it's roof. He looked around, and seeing no one he figured that he must have been earlier than he thought. While waiting, he walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down at the city below. Once a couple of minutes had passed, he crossed his arms and began to sway from one leg to the other in impatience. Just then he heard something fly by and land behind him. Zero smiled to himself as he felt a pair of slender hands on his shoulders. "Miss me?"he heard a feminine voice say. Zero turned around to see a blue and silver female ultra who's height came up to his chin, and her form was slim and well toned as that of any other Ultrawoman.

Before Zero could say anything, she reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, before grabbing his hand and pulling him along with her.

"Hey, where are we going?" Zero asked, amused by her eagerness.

"Oh, who cares?"she responded happily. "We could fly off to some nearby star, or meteorite. As long as we're alone I don't care where we go."

"Sure, as long as I'm back in time for a meeting later. But we should have plenty of time though."

"Great, Zero! So where should we go?"

"Any place you want to, Attea."

Meanwhile, back at headquarters Ultraman and Commander Zoffy were in the conference room preparing the material, in which was going to be discussed at the briefing that evening. There had been some radioactivity detected in a certain sector, which could pose a threat to life in that area, so they wanted to be sure it was checked out before it became anything major. However, while they were still organizing the paperwork on this, Jack came in to report a recent bulletin.

"Guys, I picked up something strange in the main control room."

"What is it Jack?," Ultraman asked concerned. "Is it an update on the level of gamma radiation in sector 9?"

"No, I'm receiving some sort of foreign transmission."

"Transmission from who? ," Zoffy asked in his usual serious tone.

"I'm not sure yet. But, I've been trying to trace it and have detected it's approximate location with coordinates of about two hundred light years from here."

"Do you think it could be an S.O.S," Ultraman asked directly to Zoffy.

"It's possible. Put everyone on alert just in case.," Zoffy said while turning back to jack. "Jack, try to regain contact with the source and attempt to determine it's origin."

Jack gives a quick nod before exiting, leaving Ultraman and Zoffy alone for further discussion. Not long after, Jack was able to regain transmission from the previous party and immediately notified the rest of the Ultra brothers. They all gathered in the main control room, just as the connection was becoming clear enough to receive full visual transmission. They all stood in eager anticipation as a picture finally came on to the screen. Their full attention was instantly caught when an unusual green, serpent like alien appeared on the screen. Without wasting a moment the male alien began to speak.

"People of the Land of Light, I am a member of the high counsel of the planet Salamandria, located within the cosmic ocean galaxy."

"Cosmic ocean?" Taro started. "I believe I've heard of that place."

"Yes, so have I, "Seven stated. "However, I can't recall any Ultraman ever being assigned to patrol there. I hear it's rather secluded."

"It's true," the alien on the screen continued. "We don't entreat many visitors, but this message is meant to be a proposal of peace."

"You mean you wish an alliance between both our worlds?," Ultraman asked.

"Yes, our supreme ruler, Queen Nephthys, desires a treaty of unified alliance, which would be initiated on the grounds of certain conditions."

This immediately alerted Zoffy and the others. "What sort of conditions?" Zoffy demanded, suspicious.

"Under the conditions, that there is a union of matrimony between one of your people, and of that of the Salamandrians."

"What?!"said Zoffy, confused by this ,completely out of the ordinary, request.

"Wait, are you referring to a marriage?" Ultraman asked, just as perplexed as Zoffy.

"That is correct. You see the queen-"

"Just hold it a second!" Taro interjected. "Your saying that the only way there can be a peace treaty between us, is that an Ultra, and one your kind are randomly married?!"

"That is what I said," the Salamandrian said sounding displeased, because of their skeptical reaction. "It is the custom of our kingdom that our supreme ruler be wed to a member of a foreign nation. And our most esteemed Queen Nephthys, has chosen yours."

The Ultra brothers were so perplexed by this that many of them were speechless, but Seven; however found his voice and rebuked the alien with, "This agreement of yours is completely ludicrous, and out of the question!"

"How so?" anger was hinted in the Salamandrian's voice.

"For one thing, no union between two beings should be made under such circumstances. Marriage is never something that should be forced," Seven continued," And even if we considered it, it's unlikely any Ultraman could be found, who would agree to it."

A small smile crept it's way onto the salamandrian's face as he responded, "Oh, but one has already been found."

"What?"Seven responded confused.

"What are you saying?," Ultraman further questioned.

"I'm saying that one of yours has already been selected, and by queen Nephthys, herself. And I can guarantee that her majesty will be less than understanding if the offer should be refused."

"Which Ultraman are you referring to?," Zoffy asked obviously becoming irritated with this whole obscured idea.

"Oh, I'm sure you know him, with him being one of the finest specimens of your species. He quite impressed the queen, and I must say, she is not one who is easily pleased."

"Who is he?," Ultraman pressed on, growing impatient.

" I believe her majesty said his name was Zero, Ultraman Zero."

Complete shock crashed down on the entire group, particularly that of Ultra Seven, who honestly thought he must have heard wrong. For a minute no one send anything, since they were still trying to register what they had just heard. Finally Zoffy prepared to give a harsh response to the outrageous assumption made by the salamandrian, but didn't get the chance when someone suddenly entered the control room. It was Zero. All heads immediately turned.

Upon seeing every ones odd reaction from him entering the room, Zero then asked confused, "Uh.., what did I miss?"

Author Note: I hope you all will enjoy this story I'm working on. I haven't written one in a long time, so please be patient and bare with me, if it seems kind of lame. I plan on trying my best though.

Please review if you get the chance.


	4. Chapter 4

When it was time for the ultra brother's briefing, before other issues could be discussed, they were still currently trying to figure out a solution to their most recent dilemma. Seven had previously filled Zero in on what had taken place. He attempted to calmly, (though unsuccessfully since he was still pretty pissed off) explain to his son who these Salamandrians were, and what they wanted. Him! And naturally Zero's reaction was far less than understanding.

"What the heck?!" Zero blurted out in dumbfounded rage. "Is this some kind of sick joke!"

"Unfortunately it's not," Zoffy stated plainly.

"The contact sounded serious about it," Ultraman added.

"But,.." Zero almost couldn't find the right words, "Who do those creeps think they are?"

"Zero, listen-" Seven started only to be stopped by Zero.

"No, you listen!" Zero shot back. "If those out of whack reptiles, think I'm going to hook up with queen what's her name, then they've got another thing coming!"

"Zero!" Seven said firmly, finally silencing his son. "I have absolutely no intention in letting you go through with any of this nonsense. In fact, I'm sure I made it very clear to the alien party that we would have no part in such an agreement."

"I think he seemed pretty insulted, though," Taro interjected into the conversation. "What if, he doesn't want to take no for an answer?"

"Yeah, they might even want to retaliate, if this is really such a strong custom to them," Jack suggested.

"We should alert all sectors just in case they try anything," Ultraman added with everyone giving a nod in agreement.

ANOTHER LOCATION: Salamandria

Within her chambers, the queen sat at her vanity table and stared at her reflection in the large mirror, which revealed the scowl planted on her face. She then picked up a hair brush and went through her drastically long black hair with it a couple of times, before briskly slapping it back down on the table. She then suddenly stood up and crossing her arms in annoyance, stepped over to an opened window. She looked out at the night sky, which seemed to give her a brief interval of peace. But, this was short lived when a light, almost feeble, knock came to the door. The queen sighed and rolled her eyes, since she rarely got any longer than five minutes of isolated peace before being interrupted. When the knock came again, she spitefully shouted, "Enter already!" 

Immediately the large heavy door opened and a guard stepped inside. He came forward and gave a short bow. It was evident that whatever he had to tell the queen made him nervous, since he appeared to be sweating. When he didn't say anything after a moment the queen did instead.

"Well, what is it?," she sounded impatient. "Speak, or leave me in peace."

"Your majesty, I uh.." he stuttered. "I have come to report, that the high counsel, have come in contact with the land of light."

"Oh?," she asked, now sounded interested. "Well…? Then, tell me. Did they deliver my message?"

"Yes, they have your majesty."

"So they have excepted my offer?" She said, more in the form of a statement than a question.

"No,..I'm afraid they haven't your majesty."

"What?!" queen Nephthys shouted in both anger and shock.

"The Ultras have decided against your mating with one of their own. In fact, they flat out refused, thinking it as a terrible omen to their society."

"Enough!"the queen silenced him. "Those insolent fools don't dare refuse me!"

"Beg your pardon your majesty, but they already have."

"Silence! Nobody, not even the Ultramen can keep me from what I desire. That Ultraman zero is the only male I've seen who measures up to that of a true warrior and I must have him. He will be mine, no matter what the cost! "

"Frankly your majesty, wouldn't it be simpler just to pick some other species for your- " the guard quickly ducked as the Queen hurled a silver goblet at him, just barely missing him.

"Fool, unless you wish immediate execution, you will go at once and alert the sergeant of the guard that he and his choice of men will be leaving at once on an expedition to the land of light. Is that clear?!"

"Yes, your majesty."

"Go, and tell them to report to me for further detail," she say's before the guard leaves in a rush to deliver the message, leaving the queen to continue conversing with herself. "Those Ultramen will soon see how stubborn I can truly be. But, just in case persuasion isn't enough, I think I should I have some extra assurance." A cruel smile suddenly crept it way onto her face. " I believe I will once again need to call on the assistance of my friend, Anubis."

Back at the top of the palace the queen stood as the room was once again engulfed in a blinding light with the same voice speaking as before. Although the Queen was confident that her physical persuasion would be enough to accomplish her goal, she still wanted to have an ace up her sleeve, just in case things got challenging.

"What may I assist you with now, my Queen?"the one called Anubis spoke.

"It seems the suitor I have chosen is unwilling to cooperate with my needs, and I have come to ask you for something that will assist me in,…well, for lack of a better sentence, "win his heart?"

"If physical affection is what you have in mind, than I believe I may have something that will satisfy your needs."

After Anubis said this, suddenly a glowing red object appeared out of nowhere and drifted over to the queen. She took it in her hand , and the glowing died down enough for her to analyze what it was. She saw that it was a small glass bottle with some sort of glowing red liquid inside. After further examination, she looked up from the bottle and then asked Anubis, "Is this what I think it is?"

"Indeed," was Anubis's answer.

The Queen then smiled wickedly, "Excellent."


	5. Chapter 5

It was late in the evening, as Zero walked down a quiet sidewalk. Having finely left the ultra brother's conference room, he breathed a deep sigh of relief trying to blow off some steam. After all the annoying events that had taken place that day, Zero was dying for some isolation from the space garrison. He admitted how he was hoping for something new and exciting to happen, but what had happened today struck him as just plain weird and awkward. Not only was the whole situation absolutely insane, but it was also embarrassing. Zero couldn't help but remember the odd looks that most of the Ultra brothers gave him, as his dad tried to explain everything. He now wishes his dad had told him in private, instead of in front of what seemed to be a nosey crowd, even though he could tell some of them looked uncomfortable. And after what felt like an eternity, the meeting was finally called to a halt and Zero was free to leave. Now, in hoping to find some form of relaxation, Zero decided to stop by at Attea's place in order to relieve some stress.

Upon entering an apartment building, he walked up to her room number and rang the bell. He leaned one arm up against the door frame and rubbed his face in mental exhaustion, as he waited for her to come to the door. Once she opened the door, her first expression was one of delight.

"Oh, Zero, what a pleasant surprise," she began happily. "You didn't tell me you were coming-" she stopped when she noticed how worn out he looked. "Zero..is something wrong?" she asked concerned. "You don't look so good."

"Oh, it's nothing," Zero assured her. "I'm just a little tired. You wouldn't believe the kind of day we had."

"What happened?"

"Well, you see there was this-" Zero stopped, beginning to think it probably wouldn't be a good idea to tell her, and tried to change the subject. "Uh, never mind, it's not important," Zero said straightening up from his slouched position, and walking fully in the room closing the door behind him. "Besides, ..that's not what I came over for."

"Oh? Is that so?" Attea asked unsure of his intentions as he began to approach her. "Then what did you come for?" she asked smiling, already knowing the answer.

Her suspicions were found to be correct as Zero placed his hands around her waist. Without giving her a chance to protest( not that she would have tried) Zero firmly pressed his mouth up against hers in a deep kiss. She quickly led him on by rapping her arms around his neck and kissing back. After a few moments of this, their mouths finally parted and they both panted. "Well that was fun. What else did you have in mind for the evening?" Attea joked.

Zero smirked before tightening his grip on her, and saying, "Is there something else you wanted to do? If there is, we could stop."

"Not a chance," she said before kissing him again. This led Zero to actually pick her up by the waist and then proceeded to carry her into her living room. He walked over to her couch and sat down, holding her in his lap. After a second he leaned her down on the couch, with him laying right over her. Attea then straddled his waist with her legs as she ran her hands up his chest, causing Zero to moan from the mere sensation of her hands against him. They continued to make out this way for the next several minutes, before Zero finally pulled away and sat up on the edge of the couch.

Attea sat up also and positioning herself behind him, ran her hands up and down his biceps, while asking," How was that?"

Chuckling, Zero answered, "Well, it was sure a heck of a way to relieve stress."

ANOTHER LOCATION: Salamandria

The sergeant of the guard urgently entered the throne room, after receiving a message from one of the queen's guards. He firmly stood at attention as he awaited his instructions.

"I have arrived in response to your orders your highness."

"So I see," was her cool response.

"Do I understand correctly that you wish me and my men to depart on an expedition to that of Nebula M78?"

"That is correct, sergeant."

"My I ask the nature of this mission?"

Nephthys stood up and walked down from her platform before continuing, "You and your men will travel to M78, being as mindfully discreet as possible, so as not to attract any unwanted attention. And upon arrival you will locate one of it's occupants, known as Zero, and deliver him back here to me."

"You wish me to bring you one of the Ultramen?," the sergeant said in slight disbelief.

"Is there something wrong sergeant?"she then crossed her arms in irritation. "If so, please reveal to me your concerns."

"With all do respect your highness, what you are asking of is completely unorthodox," pausing a moment to choose his words more wisely, the sergeant went on to say, "That to say, such a mission is full of contradictions, and poses many risks. After all, actually abducting a living being is not a simple task. There's also a strong possibility of many casualties, since I'm sure the one you want will not go easily!"

"Sergeant!" the queen silenced him, "I have fully taken into consideration the likely circumstances that the target will not come willingly. Which is why, I took it upon myself to give you a simpler means of doing so."

"I don't understand."

Without saying anything, the queen summoned a male servant who had been standing nearby holding a small case. She then opened the case, and with both hands took out what seemed to resemble a type shooting dark. She held it out to the sergeant, while being cautious not to touch the edge, indicating it's danger.

"What is this?" he asked taking it from her.

"It's a weapon which I believe will make your job much easier."

"Is it poisoned?"

"No, but it contains a chemical which will bring temporary paralysis on it's victim. I'm sure you will find it very useful."

"Yes, your majesty. Me and my crew will leave at once!"

"But, remember one thing!" the queen warned him. "Your target is one of great value, and you are to deliver him to me undamaged. And if I should find him otherwise I will be very dismayed! Understood!"

"Understood."

AUTHOR NOTE. Hey, everyone! This may not seem important, but I just thought I'd mention that the reason I didn't end the first scene with Zero and Attea kissing, is because I didn't want to leave the impression that they were going to have sexual intercourse or anything. Because they totally weren't, since that would be wrong. And I just wanted to make that clear.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story! Please review if you have the time!


	6. Chapter 6

The next day nothing was out of the ordinary for the people of the land of light. Ultramen members of the space garrison were going out on their usual patrol, and other citizens were going about their daily routines. The Ultra brother's were making out reports from the previous day, in order to properly have them on record in case the same situation should ever be brought up again, concerning Salamandria.

Ultraman Ace was presently on shift in the control room, under Zoffy's orders, to scan for further unusual frequencies in the area. But, while doing so he suddenly received an automatic alert signal proceeding from sector 9, which was previously being watched for lethal radiation. Ace urgently checked the scanner and acknowledged that the levels of gamma radiation had significantly increased. Being unable to detect the cause of this, Ace promptly reported this find to Ultraseven, who happened to be the only available Ultra brother at the time. Seven immediately followed Ace to the control room to check for himself, only to be filled with concern once he saw the results of the data.

"What do you think is causing it?" Ace asked Seven, who was still studying the scanner's readings.

"It's hard to tell for sure," Seven paused, while trying to figure this out, "Perhaps some foreign substance in the planetary debris is causing it."

"Do you think it could be from a new monster in the area?" Ace suggested, "Certain species have been known to give off waves of radiation as a source of energy."

"Yes, but if that was the case, the scanners would have picked up it's life form, "Seven responded bluntly.

"Your right," Ace agreed bringing a hand to his chin. "But what else could it be?"

"I don't know, but we better send someone out there to check it out, before it becomes a bigger problem."

"Who did you want to send, since most of our patrolmen are already out on duty?" Ace asked

After thinking a moment to consider his options, Seven turned to Ace before answering, "I think I'll send Zero on this one."

"Zero?" Ace questioned, unsure.

"Something wrong?"

"No, it's just that you never really send Zero out on these kinds of calls."

"Yes, I know. But as you said, we're shorthanded, and Zero has been paranoid lately with his usual rounds. So perhaps this will be a good change of pass," Seven explained.

"Okay, if you say so," Ace said accepting his answer."But, speaking of Zero, where is he anyway? I haven't seen him around since the conference yesterday."

"I think I know. I'll go give him his instructions so he'll be able to leave immediately," Seven said, before leaving the room.

Just as he watched seven exit the room, Ace turned back to the main control panel. Then right when he was about to resume his duties on the space scanners, he was suddenly struck with a strange sensation of some sort. He turned his head and looked back in the direction Seven had just left in, then turning back to the panel board, he suddenly thought to himself, "I'm not sure what it is, …but something doesn't feel right about Zero going out on this one."

Zero had gotten back to his living quarters rather late last night, for undisclosed reasons, so it was of no surprise that once he got up in the morning he felt slightly dragged out from lack of sleep. He decided to suck it up however, and get on with his day. So like always, he started his daily routine with his usual training session down in the gym area of the colloseum. When he got there, he happened to run into Ultraman Mebius, who had just arrived also. Zero quickly greeted his friend and fellow comrade.

"Hey, Mebius, how's it going?" Zero asked approaching him from behind.

Mebius quickly turned around, slightly surprised since he hadn't noticed anyone else was here as he came in, but then acknowledged that it was Zero and responded, "Oh, Zero-san, I didn't see you there."

"You don't need to call me Zero-san. Just Zero is fine."

"Yeah, sure thing," Mebius said before looking around the training room and saw that no one else was there yet.

"Looks like we're the only ones here," Zero said crossing his arms.

"Guess so."

"While we have the place to ourselves, do you want to be my sparring partner?," Zero asked.

"Sure," Mebius eagerly accepted.

They fought and trained together for about half an hour, constantly throwing punches, various martial arts, and fighting tactics back and forth, before Zero finally decided to give mebius a break. Not that he desperately needed one, considering his fighting skills had greatly improved since his days on earth. They both stopped anyway however, and noting that there was still no one else there yet, Mebius decided to start another conversation, much to Zero's dismay.

"By the way, what was all that business about at the board meeting last night?" Mebius suddenly asked. "I wasn't able to make it."

Sighing in annoyance from remembering the events of last night, Zero quickly answered, "It was nothing important. Just the usual dull stuff."

Mebius paused a moment, confused at his answer, before saying, "That's not the way it sounded to me," Mebius started." I heard that it was about these strange lizard people, who's queen was hitting on you to marry her."

"What?! Who told you that?!" Zero exclaimed, in outrage from someone spreading that around.

"Master Taro," Mebius answered. "I ran into him after he left the meeting."

Zero clutched both his fists in anger as he mumbled to himself, "That big mouth."

"He was a little vague on the details, but from what I could gather it sounded like they were serious," Mebius said not sure he actually believed it, since it seemed kind of farfetched.

"It was nothing! Just forget the whole thing!" Zero insisted hoping mebius would just leave it at that. He then abruptly turned around to leave, when just as he did he saw his dad, Ultraseven, walk into the gym. Zero went over to meet him, figuring he was there for an official reason.

"Zero" seven said stopping, "I need you to go on patrol and check out a certain location."

"What's wrong?"Zero said placing his hands on his hips.

"We've detected dangerously high levels of radiation from within sector 9. And before it evolves into something catastrophic, we need you to go and discover what's causing it. We need to know in order to choose our next line of action," Seven explained.

Zero stood there a moment and thought about asking his dad why he was sending him for such a routine check, but then chose against it, before answering "Um okay. I'll leave now," Zero replied before heading out the door.

Sector 9 wasn't far so Zero decided to take his time and go at an even pace speed. He wasn't sure what to expect, or what he would find when he got there, but he figured it probably wouldn't be anything that remarkable. It was probably nothing more than just some planetary material or piece of a meteorite that had gone radioactive from some sort of contamination. In which case all he had to do was shoot a specium ray at it, destroy it, and it would all be taken care of. Not exactly the perilous, life threatening type of experience he had been recently hoping for. But unknowing to Zero, this seemingly ordinary mission was about to take very wrong turn.

Zero was casually flying threw the cosmos of space, not really paying attention to his surroundings, as he came to a certain secluded area. It was then that his mind was brought into full attention when he suddenly sensed something wasn't right. His muscles tensed up, indicating he could tell danger was near. He quickly turned his head from side to side, and seeing nothing he came to a complete stop. He carefully scanned the area, searching for any sign of movement. He wasn't sure, but he had this feeling he was being watched. Then all of a sudden he heard something whoosh by over him. He quickly looked up but there was nothing. Then as something approached him from behind at incredible speed, Zero's fighting instincts took over and he quickly turned while throwing a hard right punch, hitting whoever the prospect was right in the face. Instantly after doing so, zero was quickly surrounded by five other similar beings.

They appeared to be some sort of humanoid drones, dressed in fully black steel armor, along with facial shields which exposed only their fully green snack like eyes. Their rather crud weapons, consisted of katana swords and spears, which they had fully drawn.

They surrounded him in a complete circle, and Zero went into a fighting stance, prepared for anything. Looking each of them over, he waited for them to make the next move. Then the one which he had hit previously came forward, only now with a slight dent in his facial piece from Zero's fist. He then spoke directly to Zero with a cold voice free of emotion.

"Come with us!"

Zero almost couldn't believe he heard that as he shot back, "Yeah right! I don't think so."

"I insist that you reconsider and comply!"

"Not happening!" Zero shouted as he accelerated forward, sending a super charged punch to the center of his opponents chest. This sent the alien hurling backwards, immediately alerting his crew into action. One came up, about to hit Zero from behind with the side of his spear, when Zero suddenly reached back and grabbed it with one hand, kicked him hard in the side of his torso and punched him in the face with his other hand. Then out of the corner of his eye he noticed two more coming from the side ready to strike. Zero then grabbed the spear, which the alien was still tightly gripping, and used it to hurl him to the side, which sent the alien crashing into the other two.

One of the remaining drones then reached behind Zero and with one hand holding each side of his spear, held it tightly up against Zero's neck in a chocking motion attempting to restrain him. He then kicked Zero on the back of his knees to weaken his stance. But Zero then elbowed him in the gut and grabbed the spear with both hands and threw him right over his shoulder. Before they could try anything else Zero quickly went and shot an emerium beam from his forehead, firing it at each of them. This sent them all falling backwards, not likely to try to apprehend him again.

After crossing his arms in satisfaction, Zero huffed, "Pathetic creeps," and gloated as he began to turn from the defeated soldiers. But just as he did, a small red light appeared on the center of his chest. Immediately alarmed by this, he looked up and was shocked to see the leader of the group who was obviously still conscious, was holding a weapon of archery which was pointed right at Zero. And before Zero could react to this, the weapon was fired, sending something sharp right into his chest at blinding speed. Zero gave a short grunt of pain, before looking down and seeing a small dart pierced right next to his color timer. He quickly pulled it out, but then not two seconds later, did he suddenly start to feel strange. He vision instantly went blurry and he could feel his whole body going numb, before losing all sensation completely. He brought his hands up to his face in confusion and panic just before everything went black.


	7. Chapter 7

It was now late in the afternoon, and Attea was on her way to meet Zero for their usual date. He had told her the night before to meet him behind the colloseum, after the daily training classes were over. When she got there however, Zero wasn't already there waiting for her like he usually is. She thought this was odd, since he had never once been late before, but then figured something going on at headquarters was probably keeping him and thought nothing of it. She stood there waiting for about ten minutes, and still seeing him nowhere in sight, she finally decided to look for him at his place, just for the rare chance that he may have forgotten about their date.

When she arrived at the door to his quarters, she knocked a few times and waited. When there was no answer, Attea knocked again only this time harder. Then starting to get a little worried, she shook the door knob to see if it was locked, which it was, and then finally called through the door.

"Zero?!" she called with a hint of worry. "Are you there?!" When there was still no answer she thought to herself, "Where is he?"

After leaving, she then came to the hopeful conclusion that he had just been held up at the space garrison and was still there, unable to get away. Figuring this was possible Attea had a brief lapse of relief as she started to make her way down there to check. When she got there she was greeted by Ultraman Mebius, who she had never officially met until now.

"Hello there, Miss. Can I help you?" he asked politely as he approached her.

"Oh, yes. I was just wondering if Ultraman Zero was still here?"she asked, trying to have a professional composure.

"Zero?" he asked.

"Uh, yes," she answered while secretly hoping she wouldn't have to explain her affiliation with him, and continued, "Do you know if he's here?"

"I don't think so, Miss."

Attea's heart instantly sank when she heard that, and practically stuttered as she responded, "H-he's not?"

"No. I haven't seen him since he left this morning, when Ultraseven sent him out to go check on something."

"You mean he isn't back yet?," Attea was now becoming more worried by the minute.

"Un, not that I know of," Mebius answered before suddenly noticing her look of concern, and asked "Is everything alright Miss?"

"Um, if it's not too much trouble, could you find out when he's expected back?" she asked him in the straightest voice she could.

Not sure what to make out of this, Mebius slowly answered, "Honestly, I don't know when he'll be back. But if you don't mind waiting a moment, I could go get Ultraseven and see if he can tell you."

Attea hesitated a moment, nervous about what seven's reaction to her would be. But then figuring she had no other option, she complied too it by nodding her head, since she feared her voice would crack if she spoke.

Mebius quickly obliged her request and went to go get seven, who he hoped wouldn't mind being bothered with this.

Attea waited were she was, while holding her hands together nervously. She then began to think about how she always tried to avoid running into seven before, knowing it would be awkward, since she knew how he previously did not fully approve her and Zero's relationship. She knew it wasn't that Seven disliked her or anything, it was just that he thought she and Zero were rushing into everything and shouldn't get to serious. And she remembered how she thought that he wasn't being completely fare when he told Zero that they should stop seeing so much of each other.

In spite of this however, and being the kind of guy Zero is, it didn't take long for him to ignore his dad's advice and go behind his back. It wasn't always easy keeping their relationship a secret, but they both knew it wouldn't have to be that way forever. It still however, put quite a damper on things, since they couldn't bring it out into the open. In fact, Attea believed that if it wasn't for seven's lack of approval and the need for secrecy, Zero probably would have asked her to marry him by now. Of course, that's saying a lot for someone of Zero's unpredictable character, but she could always hope couldn't she?

Attea was suddenly shaken out of her thoughts when Mebius came back with Seven at his side. She froze as she waited for Seven to ask her what she was doing here, since she wasn't even supposed to be seeing Zero, which would hardly explain why she was there asking about him.

"Attea?," Seven said confused. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Um, well..you see, I uh, uh.." she fumbled over her words nervously, until Mebius stepped in to help.

"She was asking about Zero."

"Oh?" Seven asked not sounding surprised.

Still not being able to find her voice, Attea consciously thanked mebius for further assisting her.

"She wanted to know when he would be back from that mission you sent him on earlier."

Seven's expression suddenly went serious as he looked away from Attea and over at Mebius, suddenly asking,"Wait, you mean he's not back yet?"

"No, uh...should he be? 'Mebius responded unsure.

"It was only for a quick assessment of sector 9. It shouldn't have taken that long, and he should be back by now," Seven said, sounding slightly concerned.

"Do you think he could have run into some trouble?" Mebius questioned.

"Unfortunately we must consider the possibility."

"Do you want me to go out and look for him?" Mebius asked.

"No, not yet," Seven said while holding up a hand to halt Mebius from moving."First we should go to the control room and see if Zero has sent an S.O.S signal. It won't do us any good to jump to conclusions. Zero is a competent Ultra and is well able to take care of himself. I'm sure he's fine"

Another Location: Salamandria

Zero groaned as he slowly became conscious from whatever it was that knocked him out. His head throbbed in pain from what was probably the worst headache he had ever had. He still felt dizzy, which caused his vision to remain blurry, so he couldn't see where he was. When he tried to move, he noticed his whole body felt heavy and numb, almost like he had been paralyzed. He noticed he was sitting in some sort of steel chair, in a dimly lit room. He tried as hard as he could to try and lift his arms, but grunted in frustration as he soon realized that they were both chained together behind the back of the chair. Then while feeling himself beginning to slip back into unconsciousness, he leaned his head back in annoyance before saying,"Not again."


	8. Chapter 8

Queen Nephthys was walking down a narrow stone plated path, which went right through what appeared to be a large garden area directly behind the palace. She then came to an unusual looking tree with purple bark and long pink leaves that had velvet colored blossoms growing on them. She sat down on a stone bench that went directly under the tree and just gazed at the peaceful habitat of nature that surrounded her. One of the blossoms then slowly drifted down and landed beside her. She picked it up, and took a moment to admire it's beauty.

Nephthys often came to this royal garden whenever she had to relieve stress. It was truly the only place where she could find complete serenity, and separation from all the turmoil of ruling an entire kingdom. Her many subjects and servants knew better disturb her while she was there, unless it was an absolute emergency. Or so she thought, until she looked up to see a messenger running towards her with urgency. She groaned in irritation as she uncontrollably crushed the flower in her hand, while instantly thinking of the consequences for this interruption.

Just when she was about to demand the meaning of this intrusion, the messenger quickly spoke before she had a chance and said, "Your majesty, I have good news!"

Nephthys raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised, before asking in doubt, "And what might be this _good_ news be?"

"Sergeant Ando's squad has returned."

That immediately sparked her interest as she urged him on, "And?"

"Their mission was a success," the messenger informed her, grateful that he was able to tell her what she wanted to hear.

"You mean they have returned with the desired prospect?" she asked with an official tone, not wishing to express any emotion.

"Yes, and he is safely secured in the holding room."

"Was it necessary to sedate him for transport?"

"I believe so your majesty. But, according to the sergeant's squad you won't be disappointed in his physical ability. Just from their battered uniforms, you could tell he put up quite a fight."

"Very good," she said with delight, standing up from her seat, "Continue to keep him secured with guard's posted at the door, until I go to interrogate. And be sure to mention to sergeant Ando that he has done excellent work."

"Right away, your highness," he says quickly leaving the queen by herself.

After taking a moment to ponder the news, queen Nephthys quickly rushed off to the palace to prepare herself for her first meeting with the new Ultraman arrival.

Meanwhile, back in the holding room, an unconscious Zero sat bounded to a thick steel chair. His ankles were fastened to the chair legs with iron chains and his wrists were painfully chained together the same way behind the back of the chair. His chest heaved up and down as his breathing quickened and his heart began to race, which was likely due to some of the after effects of the drug he was injected with. It was apparently wearing off however, as Zero was now becoming fully conscious, along with his former strength returning.

With his vision becoming clear he anxiously looked around, confused at what had happened. He soon remembered the strange gang that attacked him and then being shot with some sort of weapon before blacking out. Beginning to feel panic, Zero instinctively began struggling against his wrists restraints behind him, but they only seemed to tighten in response. As Zero continued to struggle, the soreness in his wrists soon became so bad that he was forced to stop, fearing that he might slash them and end up bleeding to death. It was the same way for the chains on his ankles, so he had no choice but to stop, since it was obviously useless.

"What is this place," Zero spoke to himself as he further evaluated his area of confinement.

The dark room consisted of four thick stone walls and no windows. The only source of light came from two oil lamps that were hung on either side of the heavy bolted door in the front of the room. Zero then noticed numerous sets of chain stalks attached to the walls which indicated that this was a holding room for prisoners. But what angered, and confused Zero was why was he one of them?! Why was he being held hostage? Most of his former adversaries would have simply killed him as soon as they got the chance. But, apparently whoever these odd balls were who grabbed him, must want him alive for some reason. He figured they were probably plotting some sort of evil diabolical caper that could only be pulled off by harvesting his ultra power or something.

But, whatever the reason, Zero knew it was going to be a long, painful day. He knew sooner or later headquarters would discover something was wrong, but it suddenly hit him that he never had a chance to send an S.O.S signal. So, after mentally kicking himself for his own mistake, he suddenly pulled at his restraints in frustration. He instantly regretted doing so however, and winced in pain as the chains dug deeper into his already inflamed wrists. Just then Zero heard some footsteps approaching and scuffling outside the door.

"Hey!" he shouted to whoever could hear him. "Who are you, and why am I here?!" When there was no answer, Zero's anger only increased as he shouted, "Answer me you bastards!"

Zero then heard the door being unlocked and the large door was slowly pushed open. A largely built male with green scaly skin stood in the doorway. His chest and muscular arms were covered with shiny black armor and a red strap went across his chest which attached a katana sword to his back. His exposed green hands and forearms were covered in scars and looked like claws, and his serpent eyes made him look all the more evil. Zero was instantly taken aback by his appearance.

"What the heck are you?!"

The guard didn't answer and glared at Zero for a second, before giving a startling hiss, and then speaking, "I have been ordered to deliver you to our supreme ruler."

"What for? What's this all about?!" Zero demanded, outraged.

"I am not at liberty to discuss it. You will be informed of the situation once you have met with our superior."

"And who is this _superior_ of yours?"

"I've told you enough. You will now come with us," the guard said, stepping aside as two other guards entered and proceeded to unchain Zero, but still leaving his wrists bound behind his back so it would be harder for him to escape.

"Where are you taking me?!" he continued to shout as they pulled him through the door, each guard gripping one of his arms. The brute force further angulated his already bleeding wrists, but Zero just chose to suck it up since he had much worse things to worry about.

Once leaving the prison, the guards proceeded to the throne room with Zero in tow. Though it certainly wasn't easy since he fought back and struggled the whole way, but with his restraints he had little chance of escape. Once they actually entered the throne room, Zero felt complete dread of what would come next. But whatever it was, he hoped it would affect just him and not pose a threat to his home would.

"I wonder just who this rotten ruler of theirs is," Zero thought grimly to himself as they came to a halt in front of an empty throne.

"On your knees!," one of the guards ordered.

"What?!" Zero began to protest, but both guards then forced him into a kneeling position.

"Her majesty the Queen!" someone announced just as the queen entered from a parting veil behind the thrones platform.

Zero looked up and was awestruck to see who their ruler actually was. It took him by surprise that it was a woman, but what surprised him more was her appearance. Despite her serpent features, she was actually very attractive. Her shiny black hair, her extremely red lips and her mysterious but beautiful eyes seem to momentarily dilute Zero's attention. He quickly recovered however, and again focused on the extreme situation he was in.

"Who are you, and what's the meaning of this?!"

The queen paused and just stared at him with her head slightly tilted. She seemed to be looking him over, and apparently was not disappointed as a smile made its way to her face. " _He's_ _certainly an improvement_ _from that creep from planet Zarab_ ," she thought to herself, just before speaking," I am Nephthys, queen of the Salamandrians."

"Salamandrians?"Zero asked knowing he had heard that somewhere before, until it suddenly hit him.


	9. Chapter 9

Once Zero absorbed the shock of realization, and remaining speechless, he finally began to understand what this was all about. What he had thought before to be a joke, was now in fact a hideous reality. The mere thought of being forced to marry this, whatever she was, nearly made him choke. After his initial reaction, Zero noticed he was still in a kneeling position, but when he tried to stand the cold face guard behind him harshly pushed him back down.

"Leave him!" Nephthys commanded, causing both guards to back away.

After Zero stood up, the queen smoothly approached him with a flirtatious gleam in her eye.

"You must forgive my brainless staff. They seemed to have forgotten how to treat guests," she said, very refined.

"Do you always drug your guests and lock them away in an underground pit!" Zero flared back at her hypocritical statement.

"I apologize for our means of getting you here, and I assure you I regret it."

Obviously not falling for her phony civil routine, Zero's anger remained intact. He was about to say something, but as he stepped forward, he unintentionally yanked at his tightly chained wrists. He sucked in a painful gasp as he tried not to show his discomfort. Nephthys quickly noticed this and motioned to the guards.

"Unchain him," she said gesturing to his wrists bands.

"But your majesty-"

"Do as I say!"

The guard then obeyed and undid his chains, which instantly brought Zero great relief. He briefly assessed his bruised, slightly cut wrists and rubbed them to alleviate the soreness.

"I hope you're more comfortable now," said Nephthys.

"Let's forget the small talk, and get right to the point," said Zero, ignoring her gesture of consideration.

"And just what would that be?" she said, playing dumb.

"As if you didn't know!" he said annoyed by this game of hers. "I know who you are, and I know what it is you want from me!"

"Do you really?" she asked with a sense of mischief about her as she stepped closer into his personal space.

This odd behavior instantly set Zero on edge and at first he wasn't sure how to respond to it, but tried to ignore it nonetheless as he continued, "Yes, and it's not going to happen."

Before saying a word, Nephthys slowly walked behind him being very coy, which only seemed to further aggravate him. Then without warning, she alluringly placed a slim green hand on Zero's shoulder. This instantly caused him to flinch, but before he could respond he heard her whisper in a very wicked, seductive voice," I'm sure you'll change your mind, ..after some proper persuasion."

That was the last straw! In complete repulsion, Zero straight away pulled away from her clutches and turned to confront her.

"You obviously aren't good at taking hints, but try to get this through your head! I want nothing to do with this place, or you! And nothing is going to change my mind."

"Is that so?" she hissed back. "I specifically chose you, and I don't know whether you heard, but I always get what I want!"

"Well, not this time."

"I'm losing my patients," she warned.

"Well, if you think I'd ever marry you, then you've lost your mind!" Zero shot back.

While showing a look of perplexed anger, and being undoubtedly shocked that anybody could ever refuse _her,_ the queen glared at the Ultra for a moment before snapping, "Very well! Guards!" Two guards quickly responded. "Seize him, and lock him back up."

As the two guards came from directly behind him, Zero not planning to be apprehended again, successfully elbowed both in the face simultaneously. Then while turning, he did a full roundhouse kick, hitting one and making him crash into the other. Other guards quickly rushed in, but they were swiftly dealt with the same way. One after the other, Zero punched, kicked and threw them until their efforts to detain him seemed to subside, mainly due to physical injury. When all present guards were finally subdued, Zero had a brief lapse of triumph, until he suddenly realized something. He looked from one direction to the other, and being struck with a sense of uneasiness, wondered to himself, " _Where_ _is the queen_?!"

Just after this thought crossed his mind, he sharply grunted in pain as he felt something sharp jab into his shoulder. He turned to see the queen right behind him and saw that she had stuck him with another one of those drugging darts. " _Man, I hate those things_."Within seconds he could feel the effects coming on. He became dizzy and lightheaded, and like before his whole body felt numb. From the feeling of increasing heaviness, his legs began to fail him and he dropped to his knees. Just before blacking out he looked up and saw the queen standing in front of him.

"You may be physically powerful, but everyone is vulnerable in some way or other. I'll find a way to break you. And in the end,..you will choose me!"

Once some fresh soldiers came and took Zero away, queen Nephthys abruptly left, being too angry to give further instructions. While heading to her chambers (most likely with the intentions of throwing another tantrum) she cynically thought to herself, " _That fool! How could he possibly refuse me? Anyone_ _with any sense would see it as an honor to be worthy of me. Well,..he'll soon find out that I don't give up that easily. No one will get away with rejecting me! There hast to be some way of luring his personal affection to meet my needs. There just hast to be!"_ With that a thought suddenly came to her, that she had previously forgotten about. " _Of course!"_ She subconsciously said, as she dashed her way to her quarters.

Swinging open the door, she wasted no time before reaching her large dresser. She pulled open one of the drawers and with great haste began moving and pushing aside numerous items in an eager search for something. She then pulled out a small object, which was raped in a piece of old blue cloth. She quickly removed it and smiled wickedly as she observed the item. It was the same small glass bottle she had previously obtained, which contained a mystifying glowing red liquid. But, it wasn't just any liquid. This was a fearfully dangerous ancient potion, which had often been spoken of in numerous prehistoric legends, only no one ever believed that it truly existed. It was always too implausible to even regard as being possible. Nephthys however was always fascinated by it's supposed outcome, and now she finally had the opportunity to witness it for herself. Right in the palm of her hand was the answer to her problem. Something she had never dreamed she would need, but was nevertheless forced to turn to it as a last resort considering the circumstances. A love potion.

 **Author Note: I hope your all enjoying my story so far. I know there are some rough spots, but I really am trying my best. I just want to please everybody!**


	10. Chapter 10

Seven paced back and forth in front of the plasma spark tower with his arms crossed edgily over his chest, as he waited for Ultraman to arrive. He had sent him a message to meet him there, but didn't give him any explanation as to why, other than that it was very urgent. Seven couldn't help but bring to his utmost attention that it had been two days already and Zero still wasn't back yet. He knew certain errands could take a considerable amount of time, but if that was the case he was sure that Zero would have at least checked in by now. This wasn't like him at all and Seven was becoming sincerely worried. He was starting to wish he had decided to send someone out to look for him sooner, and now he felt like an idiot for not doing so.

" _Zero, where are you?_ " Seven thought to himself as he continued to pace anxiously.

Just as Seven was beginning to mentally curse himself for sending Zero out in the first place, Ultraman then approached and greeted his friend.

"Hello, Seven. You said you wanted to talk to me about something?," Ultraman asked just before seeing the look of distress planted on Seven's face. This immediately struck him as odd, since Seven was always one for keeping a calm exterior.

"Is something wrong, Seven?"

"Maybe, but I'm not sure," Seven said in the calmest voice he produce.

"Well, what is it?" Ultraman asked with concern, "I can tell your upset about something."

"To be honest, I am," Seven admitted "It hast to do with that problem we discovered in sector 9 the other day."

"You mean where we exposed abnormal levels of gamma radiation?" Ultraman asked.

"Yes, you see two days ago I -" Seven started.

"What, do you mean the readings on the scanners have gone up again?" Ultraman now sounded serious "If that's the case, anything in the same vicinity could be terribly affected. We should go report this to Ultra Father before it gets worse."

"No!" Seven said forcefully, taking Ultraman by surprise. "It's not that."

Ultraman paused a moment, slightly perplexed, as he waited for seven to continue in his obviously stressed state of mind.

"It's just that ...," Seven had a hard time continuing, "I sent Zero to go check up on the whole situation."

Ultraman was puzzled as to why this would be a problem, but decided it best not to interrupt, and allowed him to go on.

"But, it's been two whole days now, and I haven't heard anything from him. There hasn't been any S.O.S signal, but I still can't help but feel that something is wrong," Seven said knowing his anxiety was clearly visible.

"You mean you haven't heard anything?" Ultraman sounded alarmed by this.

"No, and I don't know what could have happened."

"Do you suppose he ran into some sort of trouble," Ultraman suggested.

"I'm afraid he must have. There's no other explanation," Seven stated remorsefully.

"Do you have any idea what could have happened?"

"No, but I know one thing, we have to begin a search for him right away. Waiting any longer could have unpredictable consequences. I'll go myself if I have to," Seven said sounding very determined.

"You can't go now Seven," Ultraman stated, not wanting to rebuke him, but having no other choice he continued, "You need to stay to help straighten out the whole situation with Ultra Father concerning that transmission we received from Salamandria. He read the reports, but since they were seemingly lacking in detail, he was planning to bring them up in the conference an hour from now. And since, you were there he specifically requested your presence."

"But I can't just stand by and do nothing, when Zeros in the middle of who knows what, right now!" Seven objected. "We have to send someone to locate him."

"And we will," Ultraman assured him.

"Then, who?" Seven questioned. " It hast to be someone with enough experience, considering we have no idea as to what the situation is, and how dangerous it could be," Seven said, knowing that no matter how worried he was about his own son, he still couldn't mindlessly send someone out completely blind, and end up creating a second victim.

"I know what you mean, but you don't need to worry. I've got the perfect ones for this job," Ultraman confidently affirmed.

"Ones?"

Location: Salamandria

Nephthys conceitedly gazed into her vanity mirror as she prepared to initiate the next phase of her sinister plan. Step by step, she carefully applied her facial makeup, from everything to face powder, to eye shadow, creating the most alluring appearance she could muster. She wore a long black silk dress that clung tightly and opened up half way down her back, and was opened down the sides of both her legs. Nearly anyone would perceive her to be a stunning beauty. But what this beauty had in store for her victim was not so pretty.

Once she had completed her full apparel, she proceeded to her final aesthetic appliance. Her lipstick.

She reached for the small bottle of potion she placed on her table and with care pulled out the tiny cork covering it. As soon as she did, a bewitching fragrance seemed to drift into the air, which only further intrigued her. She then dipped a slender makeup brush into the liquefied potion, and then lifting it up to her face, elegantly applied it to her lips. Once settled, the potion created an unusually luscious and mystifyingly velvet color. " _Perfect_ ," she thought as she resealed the bottle and hid it from view.

"Guard!" she called from within her room.

Immediately she got a response from the soldier that had been posted right outside her door.

"Yes, your highness?"

"Is the Ultra still completely sedated?" she asked while still sitting at her vanity table.

"I think he has begun to regain partial consciousness again, but he's still very lethargic," he replied.

"Is he able to stand?" she unexpectedly inquired.

"Uh, perhaps, but-" the guard began.

"Good. Have him delivered to my chambers at once," she swiftly insisted, catching the soldier off guard.

"What?! But your majesty that wouldn't be-"

"Do as I say!" she commanded. "Just be sure he is properly restrained so as to avoid any further mishaps. Is that clear?"

The guard was obviously hesitant, but complied nonetheless and with a bow left to carry out her orders.

The queen stood up and sat punctually on the edge of her oversized bed, and with her hands folded on her lap waited eagerly for them to arrive. After what seemed like hours, a knock finally came to the door. She instantly stood up and with one last quick look in the mirror to check her lipstick, she requested them to enter.

Two guards entered, each supporting a seemingly weak Zero by an arm. The queen stepped aside and gesturing a hand to her bed said, "Sit him down."

The guards looked at each other for a moment, befuddled by this, but then obliged and sat a half conscious Zero on the edge of the queen's bed.

"Leave us," Nephthys ordered them.

"But your majesty it's not safe!" one of the guards objected.

"His hands are restrained aren't they?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then that should suffice. Now leave!" she insisted while pointing towards the opened door.

With a tentative bow, both guards left leaving the two of them completely alone.

Zero appeared somewhat oblivious to what was happening, since some remnant of the drug was still in his system. He merely sat imperceptibly and could barely even keep his head up. He felt extremely apathetic and almost didn't even notice the chains back on his wrists.

Nephthys, happily wanting to take advantage of his present state, wasted little time to advance in her plot. So with great intimacy, she swayed her way over to her partly anesthetized victim. She then without hesitation, reached out and caressed the side of his face to see if he would respond. This sudden contact instantly caught Zero's attention and with significant effort, caused him to look up.

Even in his rather unperceptive state, he was at once able to distinguish his wicked captor. He then groaned in abhorrence as he attempted to evade her touch, but was scarcely able to do so in his condition.

"What do you want from me?" he angrily mumbled under his breath.

She simply smiled at this, knowing he was completely at her mercy.

"What do you think I want?" she asked as she proceeded to run a hand down his chest. She rather enjoyed watching him trying to pull away, only because she knew that soon this would no longer be the case. "Pretty soon I'm sure you will have a change of heart," she further taunted him.

"And what makes you think so?!" he spat as he continued to refuse her flirtatious intentions.

This was the moment she had been waiting for, so she quickly took the opportunity. Bending down to meet him at eye level, she gripped the sides of his face with her hands, and before making another move said, "Now let's see if this does the trick, shall we?"

Then without giving him a chance to respond she hastily closed the distance between them, and pressed a forceful kiss to his mouth with her potion induced lips.


	11. Chapter 11

Zero's whole body jolted in shock as he felt the queen force her mouth onto his. He suddenly forgot all his hostility and merely froze in response to her startling action. His level of tension skyrocketed as she relentlessly deepened her heated efforts (if that was even possible). She further maneuvered her mouth over his to the point where he could feel her serpent teeth painfully press against his mouth. He felt as one of her hands gripped his shoulder and her other went around his neck. Then as one of her hands suddenly made its way down to his upper leg, his adrenaline pumped so hard that for a moment he thought he was going to have a heart attack.

He was appalled as he realized that as much as he wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to pull away. It was as if he had no control over himself and felt completely immobilized, being restricted from any sort of movement. All he could do was sit helplessly as the mind racking scene continued. Then just when Zero thought he couldn't take it anymore, the queen finally pulled back, bringing him tremendous relief.

This was short lived however, as he looked up at the queen standing in front of him. After giving her a hateful glare, he was prepared to give a harsh protest, when all of a sudden this strange feeling began to overwhelm him. He breathing hitched in his throat as an almost alarming sensation started to engulf him. His heart pounded in his chest, so hard that it became painful. He grunted as his whole body felt like in was becoming over heated and was on fire. He then startlingly and uncontrollably threw himself forward and fell to the floor. He then went into a generalized convulsion, slightly resembling a seizure, causing queen Nephthys to quickly step back. She watched in bewilderment, as the scene unfolded. Even she had no idea that that the potion would have such drastic side effects. Perhaps she failed to use it correctly, she thought to herself.

This frightening scene continued for only a few seconds, until the reaction ceased and Zero's form went still. His chest heaved up and down in exhaustion as the side effects subsided. He then sat up, which wasn't that easy with his arms tied behind his back, and was surprised to realize that he now felt perfectly fine, as if nothing ever happened. Even the listless result from the sedative seemed to have vanished.

Nephthys observed him for a moment, eager to see whether she was successful. But as she watched him stand up with his back to her, a disturbing thought struck her.

" _What if it didn't work?"_ she thought. " _For all I know this whole magical potion concoction could just be an outlandish hoax!"_

All these troubling thoughts raced through her mind. It distracted her so much, that she didn't even notice that Zero had turned around and was now staring right at her.

As Zero's eyes fell on the queen, he knew that he should feel nothing but anger, hate, and disgust…, but suddenly all those feelings where gone. While being extremely confused, Zero seemed to lose focus on every logical thought he ever had. What used to be feelings of hate where now turned into feeling of…love?

Everything about this felt wrong, and Zero knew, even in his perplexed state, that it was wrong. But even so, he couldn't seem to control himself, not even his own mind. Something unnatural was drawing him to this cursed female, something beyond even his influential capacity.

When Nephthys noticed that Zero was looking at her in an almost awestruck state, she realized that she must have been successful and gleamed a sinister smile.

" _I finally have him where I want him_ ," she thought as she took a few steps forward. "So…what do you think of me now?"

In an almost fearful sense Zero slowly approached her, knowing he shouldn't, but being unable to control himself, walked until he was almost a foot from her. Then in a low voice he asked, "What did you do to me?"

While smiling, Nephthys happily shortened the distance between them by placing her hands on his chest. She then leaned in closely and whispered," The only thing that matters is that everything is finally the way it should be."

Suddenly Zero lost all his self-control, and before he even knew what he was doing, he reached out and grabbed her by her slim waist and forcefully pulled her up against him. This swift action surprised Nephthys but delighted her nonetheless as she urged him to continue. The heat of her against him seemed to further stimulate him. Then in one quick action, and being unable to control himself, he kissed her almost as hard as he could. Nephthys hands then moved from his chest and anxiously clutched his shoulders to deepen the effort.

Being caught up in the heated moment, Nephthys instinctively started backing up and began leading Zero over to her bed. Once the back of her legs touched the edge of it, she started leaning down, while pulling Zero right on top of her. Then when she reached down and began pulling up the hem of her skirt, once it was up to her thigh, something in Zero's mind suddenly snapped. In one quick movement he pulled himself off of her, abruptly got off her bed and stood up. Even in spite of the spell he was currently under, he was shocked and stood aghast at what he almost did.

"What's wrong?" Nephthys asked sitting up.

"I can't," was all Zero could bring himself to say.

 **Author Note: Sorry for the short chapter, but I just wanted this one to be based on Zero's first reaction to the love potion. I just want to make clear though, that nothing that Zero did was of his own will. He's literally being controlled. But even so, he still as his morals locked up deep down inside him, as shown by the fact that he was able to resist the evil temptation in the end. Of course, he's not out of the woods yet.**

 **The next chapter will center around Zero's forming rescue party**.


	12. Chapter 12

The Ultra brother's conference meeting with Ultra Father had just come to an end. After discussing briefly about the call from Salamandria, a much more urgent situation had recently come up and became the center issue of the meeting. All the Ultra brothers were forced to bring it to their full attention and number one priority in response to Ultra Fathers orders. This however bothered some of them, due to current concerns of Zero's unexplained disappearance.

Seven and Ultraman were walking down a hallway as they prepared to send out nearly all available Ultra patrolmen to a planet in the southern galaxy known as Opar. Their occupants had sent out a distress signal to anyone who would answer their call, seeing as they were currently suffering a planetary invasion by planet Mephilas. And naturally, since the Ultras weren't ones to leave others in peril at a time of crisis, they quickly planned to assist, even though it would likely take up most of their resources.

"Mebius and Hikari are already on route to Opar, and the rest of the patrol should be joining them shortly," Ultraman began as he walked alongside Seven.

"Good," Seven responded, while wearing a stern look.

Ultraman waited before saying anything else, since he knew that Seven was angry about having to concentrate on something other than trying to find Zero. Of course he didn't say that, but Ultraman could tell that's how he felt. Ultra Father gave them direct orders, and Seven knew he had no choice but to do his duty and follow them. Even if it meant, delaying an investigation into Zero's disappearance.

Even if Seven could pull himself away, he still wouldn't be able to perform an adequate search all on his own, seeing as almost all available prospects were urgently sent for on Opar, leaving the Space Garrison extremely shorthanded.

Glancing over at Seven, Ultraman decided to break the ice, "Have you thought about what you're going to do?"

"What?" Seven asked being caught off guard by the question.

"You know," Ultraman said, "About Zero."

Seven's expression went grim once again as he looked down at the floor.

"No," Seven regretfully responded, "We can't spare anyone at the moment, and the rest of the Ultra warriors can't leave their stations."

"There must be someone," Ultraman stated.

"Well I sent a message to Ginga and X back on earth."

"And?" Ultraman asked hopefully.

Seven shook his head disappointedly as he answered, "They said they would try to make it as soon as they could, but that first they need to tie up a few loose ends back on earth."

"Oh." Ultraman thought a moment about what seven said, when an idea suddenly struck him.

"You know what? I think there might be another solution to our problem."

Seven stopped walking and looked over at Ultraman, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we may not be completely out of options here," Ultraman answered optimistically.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, do remember-"

"Hey, guys!"

Ultraman and Seven turned around to see Ace running up to them.

"What's wrong now?" Seven asked grimly, figuring he had more bad news.

"Nothing," Ace said stopping. "It's just that I might have found the answer of what happened to Zero."

"You did!?" Seven asked instantly. "What happened to him?"

"Um, just come with me," Ace said leading the way, with Ultraman and Seven following closely behind.

Seven sensed by Ace's expression that something was up, since the whole time they followed him it seemed like he was conflicted about something. This quickly alerted Seven to the probability that whatever Ace had found wasn't good news.

Ace led them both to the main control room where apparently, he had once _again_ been stationed at.

" _Doesn't anybody else ever go on shift here?"_ Seven thought.

Ace walked them over to a new computer implement that neither, Seven or Ultraman had seen before. Ace awkwardly hesitated a moment, which Seven quickly saw as a bad sign that his suspicions were right.

"How do you know what happened to Zero?" Seven asked urging Ace to continue.

Ace almost reluctantly, placed his hands on the computer controls and while turning the dials began to explain.

"This is a new central processing unit that we just installed last week and its our most updated nominal version so far," Ace said turning it on.

"What's so special about it compared to our other computers? " Ultraman asked not seeing the significance of it.

"It can tell us what happened to Zero," Ace said plainly.

"How do you mean?" Seven asked now becoming interested.

"Well, it's specifically designed to track neurologic brain waves and biological DNA of any kind. So, by using this we can get an exact location of Zero's present destination and possibly the fate he met along the way," Ace explained.

"To put it plainly, it will tell us where he is," Ultraman affirmed.

"Yes."

"Well go ahead and try it," Seven exclaimed anxiously.

"I uh, already did," Ace said unsurely.

"You did? Well then shouldn't you know by now what happened to Zero?" Seven said, confused as to why he kept it to himself.

"Yes, I did," Ace answered wearing a look of concern.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Seven asked not sure if he even wanted to know the answer.

"Well, you see the radar system tracked Zero's whereabouts from approximately three days ago when he first departed from the land of light," Ace said showing them the coordinates on the screen. "Once he was about two hundred miles from here, the computer was able to pick up at least five other life forms on the radar, which Zero intercepted with."

"What kind of life forms?" Seven asked suspiciously.

"According to the DNA scanners they were found to be organic beings with traces of reptile genetics, or at least a mutated version of them."

"Reptiles?" Ultraman asked. "That doesn't tell us much, since hundreds of our former adversaries are various species of reptile," he pointed out.

"That's true, but the scanners were more specific than that. This particular species I found, is only located in a single section of the Galaxy," Ace added.

"And where's that," Seven inquired.

After pausing for what seemed like ages Ace finally answered, "The Cosmic ocean."

"The Cosmic ocean?!" Seven exclaimed in alarm. "But then that could only mean.."

"It must have been .. _them_ ," Ultraman finished Seven 's statement.

"The Salamandrians," Ace stated aversely.

"But… but why would they have done this?" Seven asked in disbelief, even though he already knew the answer.

"They said they didn't take no for an answer…" Ultraman said referring to the Salamandrian's threats.

"So they just go and kidnap my son, in order to make their point?!" Seven shouted, balling his fists in fury.

"They're not going to get away with this Seven," Ultraman assured.

"You bet their not!" Seven proclaimed " Those confounded creatures are going to be sorry they ever heard of the Ultra race!"

"Seven just calm down a minute," Ultraman placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to suppress his outburst." As I was saying before, I've thought of someone who can help us rescue Zero, especially now that we know where he is, thanks to Ace."

"Who's that," Ace asked.

"Zero's friends," Ultraman announced. "Or as there're otherwise known as, Ultimate Force Zero."

LOCATION: SALAMANDRIA

"Tell me why this is happening!" Queen Nephthys shouted as she once again turned to the mysterious Anubis for answers.

"Why what is happening, my Queen?" he asked calmly, unmoved by her anger.

"You told me that the love potion was of ultimate power, but it's failed to suffice me," she said crossing her arms heatedly.

"Did it cause the warrior of light to become infatuated by you?"

"At first, but his power of will is far stronger than I previously perceived. He began to reject its effects," she stated.

"Interesting. His powerful potential must be one of supremacy. But fear not my Queen, even he will not be able to counteract the influence of the potion when taken to its definitive level."

"How so?" she questioned.

"It is uncommon, but there are cases when those subjected to the potion can temporarily fight it's effects. However, there is a way to overthrow any possibility of this, no matter how strong the subject is."

"And what's that?" Nephthys asked impatiently.

"The one way that will ensure that the spell will control him forever is…the act of sexual intercourse in causing two beings to become eternally connected to one another one, in a sense that is."

The Queen paused a moment, feeling unsure of this since Zero had previously refused her. But if it meant that Zero would be hers forever then she would find a way. So after briefly thinking it over she came up with a solution.

"Very well. I'll make immediate preparations for Ultraman Zero and me to be married at once!"


	13. Chapter 13

"Did you remember to tell the princess how long we'd be gone," Mirror Knight asked Glenfire, as he and his companions flew from their base on Planet Esmeralda.

"What! That grilled chicken was supposed to do it!" Glenfire shot back.

"Why do you always have to disrespect me with that inferior name?" Jean- Bot said in response to the overused insult.

"Because, it's true!" Glenfire replied.

"No it's not!"

"Yeah, it is you bucket of bolts," Glenfire said trying to further aggravate him.

"Would you guys knock it off?" Jean-nine interjected.

"That's right," said Mirror knight. "Let's not forget we have a job to do."

"Yeah, uh..what exactly are we headed off to do again," Glenfire asked, apparently forgetting their current mission.

"Don't you remember? We picked up that distress signal from Planet Opar," Mirror knight reminded him.

"The message wasn't very clear, but as far as we could tell their in some sort of trouble. So, we're just going to go check to make sure everything is under control," said Jean-bot.

"What for? The Land of Light isn't far from there and those guys can probably handle whatever it is," Glenfire protested, figuring there wasn't much point in making such an unnecessary long trip.

"You may be right, but to be on the safe side we better still go in case they need back up," said mirror knight.

"Fine, whatever, I just hope it doesn't take all day," Glenfire complained crossing his arms as he flew, "I'm sure we've got better things to do then babysit the Utramen on a routine planetary invasion."

"What makes you think it's an invasion?" Mirror knight questioned.

"Isn't it always?" Glenfire pointed out.

"Would you stop your whining already?" Jean-bot asked, annoyed.

"What do you mean whining?! Just who do you think you're talking to, grilled chicken?" Glenfire shot back with his usual bad temper.

"Stop calling me that!" Jean-bot shouted in protest.

"I'll call you that if I want to!"

"Shut up, you guys! We need to focus here," Jean-nine exclaimed.

"Well, he started it!" Glenfire accused, pointing at Jean-bot.

"I did not!" Jean-bot objected.

"Hey, you want piece of me metal head? Then have at it," Glenfire said shoving Jean-bot in the shoulder.

"Why you hot headed-"

"Hey guys, hold it a sec ," Mirror knight said stopping and holding up a hand to halt the others.

"What's the big idea, is something wrong?" Glenfire asked while placing both hands on his hips.

"No I just thought I saw something," Mirror said looking around.

"Like what, a little green man. Cause I've seen enough of those," Glenfired scoffed impatiently.

"I'm not sure but I think I saw a couple of-"

"Ultimate Force Zero," a strong voice addressed the group from behind.

The four warriors quickly turned around to see two familiar acquaintances of theirs. The one and only Ultraman, and right beside him Ultraseven.

"Ultraman-san… Ultraseven-san!" Mirror knight said in surprise.

"What are you guys doing here? Need our help preventing some world crisis?" Glenfire asked while crossing his arms arrogantly.

"Is something wrong?" Mirror knight asked instinctively.

"Yes, I'm afraid something is," Ultraman stated in concern.

"Well, whatever it is, with us on the case I'm sure it'll be a snap," Glenfire boasted in self absorbance.

"We must fill you in on the situation quickly, because time is of the essence," Seven said with a stern expression.

"Just how serious is the problem?" Jean- bot asked.

"It's critical," Seven replied.

"Well, if it's that bad, then shouldn't Zero be with you? He is kind of the leader of Ultimate Force Zero, hence the name. Although, frankly I think Ultimate Force _Fire_ would sound better," Glenfire commented while brushing his hands against the sides of his head, and causing it to burst into flames.

"Zero is the reason we're here," said Ultraman.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Glenfire asked, taken off guard by this.

"Did something happen to Zero?" Mirror knight asked apprehensively.

"Yes, and that's why we need your help," said seven.

"Well, what's wrong, what happened to him?" Glenfire asked, becoming restless.

"He's been abducted," said seven plainly.

"What!" Glenfire and Mirror knight said at once, with the others gasping in response.

"Abducted? By who?" Jean-nine asked, shocked by this.

"By a newly discovered nation known as the Salamandrians. They were somehow able to apprehend Zero and are now holding him somewhere on their planet," Ultraman explained.

"What for? What do they want with him?" Glenfire asked confused.

"Uh, that's..not important. The important thing is that his life is in danger and he needs help," Ultraman said, while hoping to avoid giving them any embarrassing details.

"Yes, and since we have very few available resources at the moment, we've come to ask the four of you for your assistance. We don't know how vigilant these creatures are, so you may be taking a great risk if you choose to accept," Seven warned.

"Oh, don't worry about us! Nothing can phase our crime fighting force. Right guys?" Glenfire asked receiving a confident nod from each of others."Just tell us where he is and we'll go get him."

"Great!" Seven exclaimed in delight. "We'll give you the coordinates."

After being given the right location the Ultimate Force Zero was immediately on their way to go rescue their comrade.

"How do you think Zero's doing right now?" Mirror knight asked as the four of them zoomed off towards their far destination.

"I don't know, but it just goes to show you how helpless Zero is without us. I mean just look, he's been on his own without us for like what, a month? And he's already been kidnapped by aliens, dragged off to some screw ball planet I've never even heard of, and now he's being held hostage just waiting for us to come and save him!" Glenfire blurted out.

Ignoring his unnecessarily long comment, Mirror Knight simply sighed, and replied with, "I just hope we get to him in time…before anything happens."


	14. Chapter 14

Ever since that event with Nephthys, Zero's thoughts and emotions were left so fumbled that he didn't know what to do. It was almost as if he was cursed with a split personality, where on the one hand he knew he should do everything in his power to escape this vile female, who is obviously withdrawn from any sort of decency. But then on the other hand, somehow his entire being was completely enchanted by her and continuously seemed to draw him to her. The duo sensation strongly reminded him of when he had been possessed by Beliel and had no power over his actions. Only this was different, because not only did it feel like his actions were being controlled, but also the feelings of his very heart. And the fact that Zero had no idea of why this was happening to him, terrified him more than anything.

" _Why is this happening to me?"_ A stressed Zero thought to himself as he sat and held his face in his hands" _What did she do to me?"_

The guards had previously taken Zero from the Queens room just before she left to take care of some business, and placed him into a different set of chambers. They weren't as lavish as the Queen's, but they were far better than the dungeon. But in Zero's state of mind he really couldn't care less, since shockingly, all he cared about and wanted was the queen. Even when the guards came to take him from her room, he actually asked to _stay_ , which even at the time, he just couldn't believe what he was saying. And now he just sat on the edge of the bed in the new room, with his face in his hands and mentally continued to struggle within himself. He attempted to control all the urges he had for the queen that seemed to overwhelm him, but it was a fight he feared he was going to lose.

Zero stayed in this position for several whole hours remaining undisturbed, until he heard the door to the room being unlocked from the outside. Even though he had been spared actual restraints, he still had to be locked in with a strongly bolted door, though Zero could still probably burst it open if he tried. Which wouldn't be likely while he's under the Queen's confounded power.

The door opened to reveal a small female Salamandrian, a maid most likely. This surprised Zero, since all the servants of the queen he had seen so far were male.

She was rather small in stature and looked young. Her black hair was done into numerous braids and then pulled back into a ponytail. Her apparel consisted of a sleeveless white dress that came down just above her knees and was tied tightly around the waist with a gold colored bandana. She wore a gold band on each of her upper arms and a pair of sandals for shoes. She seemed to wear very little makeup, but was lovely none the less. Her beauty was different than the queens though. Just by looking into the queen's eyes, though alluring, one could sense her inner wickedness. But this girl's eyes seemed to show kindness and warmth, something Zero didn't think could be seen in one of their kind.

Zero remained silent as this young female entered the room. She was holding what looked like a piece cloth and a bowl. She stood by the door and looked at Zero for a moment with an unemotional expression, which Zero figured was probably because he was the first Ultraman she had ever seen. She then closed the door, not bothering to lock it since she apparently had no fear of him escaping, and walked right over to the bed were Zero was seated. Without saying a word or even giving Zero a second look, she got down on her knees right in front of him. Zero wasn't sure what to think as she placed the bowl she was holding down in front of her, and then began to soak the cloth in the water that was in it. Zero was about to ask her what she was doing, when she reached out her hand and spoke.

"Give me your hands," the girl said, while holding out her hand.

"What?" Zero asked, obviously confused.

Making eye contact with him, the girl continued "Your wrists," she began while glancing at his cut, half-healing wrists, "They must be treated or they will get infected."

Zero looked at his injured wrists and admitted that they did look pretty bad. So choosing to rather not make a fuss, he hesitantly held out a hand for her to take.

Taking his hand in hers, the girl brought the wet piece of cloth up to his wrists and gently began to clean the cut area. Zero flinched at the pain, but it quickly dulled, and he just watched as she continued with her work. As she proceeded to his other wrists, Zero suddenly saw this as the perfect opportunity to get some answers as to what was happening to him.

Taking a deep breath, Zero finally asked," What did she do to me?"

The girl was taken aback by this sudden question and instantly looked up at him with a slightly confused look. But her expression changed to a solemn one as she gave a sad sigh and looking back down, continued to treat him.

Aggravated by this Zero was about to ask again, when without looking up and in an almost inaudible voice she said "I'm sorry."

Confused, Zero pressed on," Sorry? For what?"

"For the unforgivable thing our queen has done to you," she softly spoke.

"I don't understand," actually Zero had an idea what she meant, but he wanted more answers, so once again he asked, "What did she do to me?"

Looking up and making direct eye contact, she said in a low serious voice, "She has placed a love spell on you."

Stunned by this, it took Zero a moment to find his voice, until he spurted out," A..a love spell?!"

Nodding in response she confirmed it by saying, "That's right. It is an ancient spell. Very powerful…very dangerous. It will enslave anyone tainted by it to fall in love with the one who subjects them to it,.. which I'm afraid, is what she has done to you."

"But-but is there any cure?" Zero asked growing more worried, "I mean, I can't stay like this forever!"

"I'm very sorry…but I've never heard of any antidote," she said much to Zero's dismay.

"There hast to be!" Zero insisted, showing the immense pressure he was under. The mere thought of himself being a prisoner of love for eternity sent shivers down his spine. And it wouldn't be long before he could no longer contain his inner emotions for Nephthys, since the struggle was just too hard, even for him. Zero feared that these feelings of heated desire would soon cause him to completely lose himself, if they weren't quickly suppressed. "There needs to be a way," Zero said is a lower voice.

After noting his level of stress, the servant girl couldn't help but feel empathetic towards the Ultra, much on the contrary to anything the heartless queen could ever feel.

"Well…those with a strong power of will, have been said to of fought against the affects of the spell,… but it was only temporary. The potion is much too strong for anyone to stop," she regretfully stated.

"Well, I'm not just anyone," Zero said with a bit of his arrogant confidence returning, "I've faced harder fights than this!"

"Perhaps you have," the girl then stood up from her kneeled position, "But I'm afraid after tomorrow it will be too late for even you to stop."

The girl then took up the water bowl and walked towards the door to leave.

"Wait!" Zero shouted causing her to stop, but still having her back to him. "What did you mean by that? What's so special about tomorrow?"

She turned her head to look back at him for a second, and with an indifferent expression due to his apparent lack of Intel, said bluntly, "Haven't you heard? Tomorrow is your wedding day." Then without another word she turned and left the room, leaving a completely dumbfounded and speechless Zero behind.

 **Author Note: Don't worry, there are not going to be any wedding bells for Zero. With the rescue crusaders on their way, Zero's captivity is not going to last much longer. Only with a whole planet up against them, they may need a few additional reinforcements. Can anyone guess who they may be?**


	15. Chapter 15

It was just barely the break of dawn with the sun just starting to rise, and the whole Salamandrian kingdom was in a complete frenzy. From every corner, servants and citizens from all over hurried to make the last minute preparations for the Queens unexpected wedding. Though she had dropped the sudden announcement on her staff like a bombshell, she still however demanded nothing less than perfection. Since apparently she wasn't the small sensible type and insisted on making it a large spectacle. And with the actual ceremony less than several hours away, and only having since last night to prepare for it, it's not a wonder everyone was in a complete panic.

"Has the justice of the peace arrived yet?" the queen asked a servant girl, who was walking by carrying some fancy looking flowers for decorations.

"N-not yet your majesty," she replied nervously.

"Well he had better arrive soon…the wedding must take place at once," the queen then took a moment to admire the flowers she was holding, "These are the best flowers from the royal garden, so be sure that they are placed right up in front at the altar."

"Yes your majesty," the servant girl then rushed off to fulfill her request.

Within no time at all, a tremendous wedding hall was exquisitely adorned and decorated for the imminent event. There was almost no limit to the décor and ornamentation that was put to use. Basically every citizen in Salamandria was informed of the upcoming nuptials and very much desired to be present. The citizens actually received very little detail regarding the groom, except that according to the queen he was the ultimate warrior to rule alongside her. Aside from being astonished, this only further increased everyone's curiosity and interest in who this mysterious alien was that had finally earned the queens acceptance. Many heard a rumor that he was an extraordinary humanoid being from a strange far off world, but the name of his species was considerably kept under wraps.

Upon receiving the news, the people of Salamandria shared many assorted reactions, with some responding in delight with, "Oh, this is wonderful! With the queen getting married our kingdom will finally be unified!" But, others felt less confident of such an outcome and projected rather negative reactions such as follows, "Queen Nephthys is getting married? …What kind of a nut did she finally snag?!" But contrary to the people's personal thoughts on the idea, they all nonetheless wished to attend the event, even if just to see it end successfully, or turn into a disaster. Most however were leaning towards disaster, which when considering what was about to take place, was most likely accurate.

Unknowing to the Queen, this wedding was about to take a very wrong turn.

Another Location: The Land of Light

Timeline: The previous day

Ultraman Taro had been up to his knees in work ever since the Mephilas attack on Opar. He had actually been planning on going there himself to assist the others, but with all the chaos and confusion in pulling Ultra rookies and patrolmen off their usual tasks and reassigning them, it seemed necessary for Taro to stay behind and handle things. Someone had to keep things running smoothly and he was elected.

With all that he was currently dealing with, Taro hadn't found the time to speak with any of the Ultra brothers. So it goes without saying, that he hadn't received any update on the Zero situation, other than the rumor that the Salamandrians had been behind the whole thing. This little piece of information however, had been passed on to Taro by his young assistant, who apparently heard it from someone, who heard it from someone else and so forth. This being all the info he could get, he was still presently unaware that the Ultimate Force had been sent to handle it. He just figured with everything that was going on, everyone had their hands tied and couldn't do a thing about it at the moment. Taro had never been that close to Zero, but he was seven's son after all and he couldn't help but feel that they had abandoned one of their own.

Taro was heading for his office to file some paper work, which you can imagine there was a great deal of, and continued to have an increasing feeling of guilt. While their all running around handling their recent problems, he couldn't help but picture Zero in the middle of some life threatening scenario. Of course they had others duties to handle, but how could they just forget about their comrade in his hour of need.

" _There must be something we can do to help,"_ Taro thought to himself as he entered his office and walked promptly to the filing cabinet with the reports in hand. He pulled open one of the drawers, possibly a little too roughly, and began fumbling through the folders to find the right one. His level of tension seemed to increase as he did so. _"We can't just stand idly by and do nothing…not when Zeros facing who knows what!"_

After placing the reports in the proper file and putting the file back into the drawer, Taro slammed it shut, rather harder than he had intended, but he didn't care. Taking a deep breath, he leaned one hand against the filing cabinet and rubbed his face with the other, being overwhelmed with the feeling of stress. After taking a moment to get his mind straight, Taro then stepped away from the filing cabinet and walked over to his desk to sit down for a few minutes before returning to work. With his elbows up on his desk and his face in his hands, he attempted to push every negative thought out of his head. But it seemed futile, since even after all the hard work he had done that day he still couldn't help but feel completely useless.

" _There's got to be something I can do to help Zero,"_ Taro thought once again, still not ignoring the previous issue. _"If I can't do anything about it myself, there hast to be someone who can."_ And after thinking over multiple options, Taro's mind suddenly stumbled upon one in particular. Realization then struck him and he practically jumped out of his seat and headed to the door in one quick motion. It had just dawned on him that he did know someone who could help. An old and rather close friend and ally who he knew he could always call on.

Another Location: Not far from Salamandria

Timeline: Present Day

"We're almost there!" Mirror Knight exclaimed as he saw the enemy planet from a distance.

"Yeah, when we get there, those freaks aren't gonna know what hit them!" Glen Fire said as he punched his fist into the palm of his hand, pumping himself for a fight.

"Any idea how many there are?" Jean-bot asked, hoping for some sort of estimate.

"Yeah, how about that?" Jean-nine asked seeing his brother had a point. "There is strength in numbers you know."

"Who cares?" Glen fire sounded unconcerned with this. "We've taken on massive malicious armies before. Why should this one be any different?"

"I suppose you have a point.." Mirror knight sounded unsure of this and went on to say, "Still I think it would be wise for us to be on our guard. They were able to apprehend Zero after all."

Glen fire was prepared to give another smart mouth comment, but taking a moment to consider this chose against it. Instead he increased his flying speed and flew ahead of the others. Then looking back he waved his hand for them to follow as he shouted tauntingly, "Then what are you ladies waiting for? Let's go!"

The others instantly caught up, the four of them now closing in on Salamandria at rocket speed. However, unknowing to them they weren't the only ones on their way to the rescue. Because, not far behind unidentified reinforcements summoned by Ultraman Taro, were now on their way to the same destination. And contrary to what the Ultimate Force may think they are certainly going to need the help.

Location: Also not far from Salamandria

In a dark ship of an unknown origin, there stood a tall slim, unknown figure in dark skin tight armor. They had fire arms strapped onto their waist and long black gloves that exposed their fingers. The dark figure stood with their hands folded behind their back, and with a stoic expression stared out into deep space through a large window at the ships front. A voice from one of the crew members then came from behind.

"We're almost there General. We should arrive at Salamandria within the hour."

Without moving, the figure answered in a stern tone, "Be on guard! We must be prepared for anything."


	16. Chapter 16

"Your Majesty, we're being attacked!" a guard shouted frantically as he burst into the Queens room without knocking.

"What?!" Nephthys said shocked, while quickly standing up from her seated position at her vanity table.

"They've hit our cities borders and their heading towards here!" the guard sounded out of breath indicating he had run all the way here.

"Who are they?" she demanded.

"They've already taken out our first line of guards and more have been summoned to the scene. We're attempting to hold them back, but the assailants are taking out our boundaries. I don't think we'll be able to keep them at bay much longer! And who knows what kind of damage they could cause!" the guard sounded almost fearful.

"Unless you want to end up on my beheaded list, I'd advise you to stop acting like a cowardly wimp and tell me what's going on! How about you start by telling me who exactly these invaders are!" Nephthys snapped in her usual threatening manner.

"But we don't know who they are!" the guard began, but then noticing the queens death glare, he attempted to put together a more precise answer. "Th-that is, we don't know their exact origins."

"Origins?"Nephthys asked emphasizing the plural tense.

"Um, yes. They're not the same species."

"Odd," Nephthys said more to herself then the guard. "Just how many are there? One hundred, two hundred?"

"Uh, well, actually there's just…four," the guard said hesitantly, while preparing himself for whatever the queens reaction would be.

"What, only four?!" she flared, "Is this some kind of a joke?!"

"No your majesty, you see-," he was abruptly cut off.

"There's only four and you sorry excuses for warriors couldn't handle them?!" the queen spoke with murder in her eyes. "I don't know if I should have you shot for stupidity, or hung for insolence!"

"No please your majesty, if you will just listen. These invaders are more powerful than we originally anticipated- "he was again cut off.

"Silence!" she said holding up a hand to silence him. "Instruct all reinforcements to respond to the attack, and that if they can't handle the problem on their own, I personally will see to it that they will pay with their lives!"

"Right away your highness," the guard said rushing away before she could threaten further.

Nephthys leaned forward against the vanity table, taking a moment to allow the news to sink in. Then lifting her head, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She wore a long silk red dress, which was the customary apparel for a Salamandrian wedding. It was sleeveless with a low cleavage and was transparent around the midsection. Her shoes were gold colored with five inch heels and she wore multiple gold necklaces that started from her neck down to her cleavage. To top it off she wore a golden tiara with a red jewel in the middle. It angered her that after all this extensive preparation it appeared the wedding would have to be postponed after all.

Knowing it was her responsibility to oversee the situation, Nephthys decided to head off to make sure her men wouldn't screw it up and had everything under control just in case it turned out to be something major. She quickly left her room, while slamming the door behind her. There was an instant silence following her departure. But it was a silence that gave you a feeling as if something was about to happen.

The large mirror that Nephthys had just been looking at a second ago, at one moment looked like nothing out of the ordinary. But then all of a sudden a bright light proceeded from it in the form of a cross. In a flash the blinding light vanished, but only to reveal a standing figure in its place.

Mirror Knight!

"We'll get to you soon Zero," Mirror Knight said confidently.

Meanwhile…

"Take that you lousy serpents!" Glenfire shouts as he launches his powerful Glen spark attack at several Salamandrian soldiers, creating an explosion.

"Jean Fight!" Jean-bot and Jean-nine both shouted as they fired their double Jean knuckle, hitting and taking out four more approaching guards carrying spears.

One by one they took them out, but it seemed the more they defeated the more showed up. It was like a never ending streak of soldiers. Instead of fighting in mid air however, as they were previously doing, Glen fire and the others took the fight to the ground so as to get more personal.

Jean-bot and Jean-nine were quickly surrounded by armed guards. Jean-bot quickly brought out his battle Axe as his immediate choice of weapon and prepared to fight. He turned, swinging it at one of the enemy, barely missing. His opponent quickly returned his attack with one of his own and advanced towards Jean-bot with a sharp pointed spear. Jean-bot quickly blocked the spears path with his battle Axe and then taking his split second opportunity, swung the axe low, slashing it right across the Salamandrians soldier's midsection.

Jean- nine stood in his battle stance as two soldiers proceeded towards him. One tried to jab him with a spear, but Jean-nine grabbed it with one hand and delivered several punches to the soldier's chest until he released his spear, while staggering back. Jean-nine then took the spear and swung it at him hitting his opponent in the head and knocking him out. Meanwhile, the Salamandrian's partner, ran up to Jean-nine from behind, and hit him in the back with his metal armored fist, before jabbing his spear into Jean-nines shoulder. Jean-nine stumbled forward, but the damage to his shoulder was minimal, and he quickly turned to face his assailant. Then to the Salamandrians surprise, Jean-nine lifted his arm and shot several arm mounted Jean cannons at him. He then turned and shot a dozen more at other Salamandrians approaching.

"If you want me, come and get me!" Glenfire taunted as he waited for more guards to attack, which they quickly did.

The first one to approach him was much larger than the rest of the soldiers and looked much more fierce and tough. He was bulk and muscular and had a scar that went all the way across his face. He let out a disgusted snarl he came face to face with Glenfire. Glenfire, however was unmoved by his brutal appearance and was actually pleased that this guy looked like more of a challenge.

"Well, what are you waiting for pretty boy! I'm standing right here," Glenfire goaded with his hands arrogantly on his hips.

Giving a ferocious growl, the giant Salamandrian charged forward with the end of his jagged spear pointing towards Glen fire.

Back at the palace Zero waited in the room which he was presently confined to. He just laid back on the bed, figuring he had nothing better to do and since he didn't know how long he was going to be here he thought he might as well get comfortable.

He just laid there with a feeling of dread as he thought about his inevitable marriage to the queen, which he was completely helpless to stop. If only he could overcome the effects of the love potion just long enough for him to escape. But as much as he wanted to he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He finally came to the realization that whether he liked it or not, he was going to be married to Nephthys.

A thought then suddenly came to Zero. It was something he hadn't thought about since he left home, and remembering after all he had been through saddened his heart.

"Attea," Zero said aloud as he realized what all this mess would do to her.

As Zero said her name, it suddenly dawned on him that in spite of the forced feelings of passion he had for Nephthys, it didn't cause him to stop caring about Attea in the least. He realized he still loved her as much as he always did. But how could that be, since that poison Nephthys gave him was supposed to enslave him to her forever. The more Zero thought about this and the fact that he still loved Attea the more he realized that maybe his situation wasn't hopeless after all.

"Maybe there is a cure."

Then all of a sudden to Zero's surprise the lock on the door was blown off from the outside. Zero quickly stood up, but just as he did the door swung open and revealed one of the last persons he expected to see.

"Mirror Knight!"


	17. Chapter 17

Upon receiving the news of the strange invaders attacking the borders of the city, Queen Nephthys hurried to see them for herself. So taking the quickest route through the corridors of the castle, she rushed to a large opened window high up in the center of the palace. Then gripping the window seal with both hands, she looked out, not sure what to expect. The moment she did, there was a big explosion not far from without the castle that produced a huge flame of fire, which caused her to shield her face. When the smoke cleared she could make out in the distance three flying figures heading this way. From what she could tell, two appeared to be robotic in form, and the other was humanoid and overlaid with red coloring, matching the flames ascending from his head.

Despite the weirdness of these aliens and the unknown reason for this attack, the one thing that came to the Queens mind and struck her as odd was something the guard had told her.

"Didn't he say there were four?" she said aloud to herself.

"Your majesty!"

The queen turned to see a young maid running up to her in a panic.

"What now?!" Nephthys snapped.

After running up to the Queen and looking worried, the maid frantically began, "My Queen, something terrible has happened."

"Ugh, I know, I Know! Do you think I'm blind? I can see that we are being attacked!" Nephthys shouted while gesturing to the battle taking place outside.

The maid seemed to just realize the attack that was occurring and gasped in shock.

"If you have nothing useful to add, then get the heck out of my sight!" Nephthys raised her hand and looked like she was about ready to slap her when the maid started to plead with her.

"No, please your majesty!" the girl pleaded, while covering her face to block the blow. "There's something important I need to tell you!"

Lowering her hand, the Queen replied impatiently, "Well, what is it?!"

"It's the Ultraman," the girl started.

The Queen's attention was instantly caught by this as she continued to ask, "What about him?"

"He's.. he's gone."

Once Mirror Knight had broken him out of his not-so prison like prison, it just seemed to be the mental push that Zero needed to snap him back into his senses.

"Mirror knight, what are you doing here?" Zero asked in almost disbelief after seeing his friend.

"Me and the guys have come to break you out. They're out there holding down the fort now," Mirror knight gave a confused look as he gazed around the room, since apparently he was expected something a little more uncomfortable.

"How did you know where I was?"

"Your father told us. He came to us and said you were in trouble with these guys. But come to think of it he never did tell us why."

"Uh, it's complicated, I'll explain later. Right now we have to get out of here before Queen Neph- Uh, before the guards come!" Zero said as he and Mirror knight headed out the door.

After being released, both Zero and Mirror knight quickly made their way down the dark passage ways of the castle as they searched for a back exit. Fortunately there were no guards to get in their way, since Glenfire and the others were keeping them all occupied. Everything was going perfectly to plan. Or so it seemed at the time.

Realizing that the invaders had come to rescue Zero and that the whole attack was a mere distraction, Queen Nephthys had had it. To say her temperament had reached its boiling point was an understatement. Every where she turned she was being denied what she wanted. First, planet Nebula M78, and now a cavalry of grotesque aliens ripping her soldiers to shreds. All she had been after was one thing. Was she really asking that much? Whether she was or not, it didn't matter, because she wasn't going to put up with it anymore. She had had enough. A mate was no longer the only thing she was after, because now she's after blood!

She stood sternly in front of the orb containing the entity of that of Anubis, while seeming oblivious to the explosions that resulted from the ongoing fight between her people and the assailants. Then with an unreadable expression in one swift motion, she threw her arms up and shouted in a commanding voice, "Anubis, obey my voice! Arise, and avenge my kingdom by utterly destroying those who dare trespass upon it!"

Immediately after she said that there was a dead silence. Even all the explosions seemed to cease. Then the round orb began to glow red and suddenly everything started to shake like a violent earthquake.

A sinister smile then made it's way to the Queens face.

A few moments before…

"Glen Fire Punch!" Glen fire pronounced as he drilled a flying fiery punch into his final opponent causing him to blow up in a burst of flames. "Whoohoo! That's what I'm talking about!" he said throwing up his fist in triumph.

Jean-bot and Jean-nine soon joined him, and they observed the scene to find no one remaining except them. Before they could congratulate themselves however, Zero and Mirror Knight landed from behind, much to the teams delight.

"Zero you're alright!" Jean- bot was the first to exclaim.

"Well, it's about time you guys showed up!" Glen fire sounded more happy than annoyed. "Where were you two minutes ago when we still had a hundred of these green dudes left?"

"Sorry, we got here as fast as we could," Mirror knight apologized happily.

"I want to thank you guys for coming," Zero looked at each of them with gratitude.

"Think nothing of it. You'd do the same for us right?" Glen fire crossed his arms walking over beside Zero.

Zero gave a nod before saying, "We better get out of here before there's any more trouble."

"What are you talking about? We've conquered the field," Glenfire gloated.

Then all of a sudden the ground underneath them began to shake, causing all of them to fight to keep their balance.

"What's happening?!" a shocked Mirror knight asked.

"I don't know!" Zero answered fearing the worst was yet to come.

"What now?!" Glen fire shouted as a thick mist of darkness appeared out of nowhere and towered over the city.

Bolts of purple lightening struck the sky and well as the ground causing parts of it to crumble. Then within the cloud of darkness a pair sinister red eyes appeared.


	18. Chapter 18

Within moments, the dark cloud of mist materialized and showed its true form. The figured appeared to be an enormous giant, far larger than any Ultraman, and resembled that of a monstrous samurai. His thick, full body armor was blood red, and his cloth covered hands resembled claws. His heavy metal samurai helmet concealed his whole face and only revealed a pair of demon red eyes. And strapped to his back were two long katana swords that intercrossed each other.

Zero, and the rest of the Ultimate Force, stood in shock at the new opponent before them. It wasn't just that they were so appalled to fighting something more than twice their size. They've certainly been there and done that before. But what really set them aback by this monster samurai was the feeling of impending darkness that proceeded from it. Somehow a different darkness, however, from other foes they've faced. Something that felt supernatural, and pure evil in essence. But before Zero and the others could react to this realization however, the monster samurai clenched it's fists and let out a frightening shriek, which was obviously one of extreme anger. They could more than sense that whatever this things deal was, he was really ticked off about it.

Glenfire was the first to take action, though quite thoughtlessly as usual.

"It's gonna take more than a girly scream to shake us, samurai looser!" Glenfire shouted towards the towering creature. "Come on guys! Let's go end this!"

Then without waiting for the others to respond, Glenfire instantly took flight towards the samurai monster. He then prepared to fire an attack, but just as he was doing so, the samurai moving with incredible speed, pulled both katana swords from his back. Then without wasting a second, the samurai plunged both of them into the ground, creating a wave of earth quaking explosions that shot right across the ground. The effects were so strong that it blasted Glenfire right out of the sky, causing him to spiral to the rock ground.

"Glen fire!" the guys all shouted as their friend hit with extreme force.

With a painful grunt, Glen fire slowly lifted himself from the badly damaged pavement and struggled to stand, with slight difficulty. His whole body racked with pain from the force of the blast, and once he did get to his feet he nearly fell back down, only to be caught by Zero who was gripping onto his shoulders.

"You okay?" Zero asked concerned.

"Of course I am," he said pulling out of Zero's grip, only causing himself to stagger without the support.

"No you're not, Glenfire," Mirror Knight opposed, "Your hurt."

"I'm fine! Now let's go get that- Ah!" Glen fire grabbed his ribcage as he started to take a step.

"You can't fight!" Zero practically ordered in reference to his condition.

"Don't tell me what I can't do!" Glen fire straightened his back and then tried walking again, only to stumble to his knees. Mirror knight quickly came to his aid and then looked to Zero with alarm.

"Now what do we do?"

Before Zero could answer , the Samurai pulled both his swords out of the ground, one in each hand, and then began to speak directly to them in an evil, projecting voice.

"Beings from another world!" the giant spoke directly to them. "I am the god Anubis, defender of planet Salamandria and servant to Queen Nephthys. You have disrupted the peace on this planet, which means I am now called to-."

"Peace?!" Jean-bot interrupted. " Is he kidding?"

"Yeah, what right do you have to accuse us?!" Glan fire shouted with a head full of steam." You guys are the ones who started this whole thing! Take that to that so-called queen of yours!"

"Silence, you inferior life form!" he said, sounded completely fed up with glen fire.

"Did he just call me inferior!" Glenfire lifted a fiery fist in the samurai's direction, feeling insulted.

Ignoring Glenfire this time, the giant continued with his proclamation of annihilation, "You have angered my mistress with your insolence, and for that you will pay with your lives. Prepare to be eradicated!"

With that, the monster samurai raised one of his katana swords, which started to glow purple. And after bringing it far back, he then swung it forward creating a purple energy slash from his sword that fired right at Zero and the others. It barely misses them, but still manages to knock them back as it strikes the ground. Before they could recover, another energy slash is fired, seconds after the first. Zero, Glenfire, and Mirror knight were able to dodge it by flying, but Jean- bot didn't make it and was hit, causing him to crash. Jean- nine quickly ran to his brother's side, who was now lying face down on the ground, unconscious.

"Jean- bot! Can you hear?" Jean- nine shouted in a panic.

Jean- bot groaned which at least meant that he was alive, but before Jean-nine could be relieved he noticed another energy slash flying towards them. With only a split second to react, Jean- nine quickly grabbed his brother by the arm and with all his strength, managed to clear both him and his brother from the area just before the blast hit.

Outraged by the harm done to his friends, Zero clenches his fists as he stares at the red eyed beast before him. He knew he had to be the one to end this, since he was partly the cause of all this.

"You'll pay for what you've done," Zero said in low voice that was barely audible. Zero then turned to mirror knight who was still watching over glen fire in his injured condition.

"Stay here with Glenfire and Jean-bot. I've got this."

"But, Zero-"Mirror knight was about to protest, but Zero had already flown off to battle Anubis.

The Samurai slowly pulled back his sword and prepared to fire his next blast right at Zero.

Zero stood his ground however, and just waited for it to come. He was ready for it.

Then after taking a moment to look his target in the eye, Anubis quickly lashed his katana forward and this time fired a red electrical energy slash that was stronger than the previous ones.

Being prepared for this attack Zero quickly used his ultra brace and created a defense shield that blocked the powerful blast. He then grabbed both his eye sluggers, and he placing them on his chest, fired his Zero twin shoot hitting his opponent in the shoulder. The Samurai merely growled at the pain, with the attack not having much of an effect, and prepared to fire another blast of energy. Zero easily dodges it as he takes flight, and fires his Emerium slash as he does so, hitting the samurai in the leg. Zero then flies over him, making Anubis growl in irritation. Then using both swords, he swings one after the other sending two blast towards Zero. But Zero puts up another defense shield blocking both slashes, and then using the Zero brace he summons the Ultra zero lance. Then in one good throw, he hauls it right at the samurai's face and manages to stick him right in the eye.

The Samurai yells in extreme pain as he brings a hand up to his face. And after pulling the lance out, he crushes it in his hand and growls as he looks up at zero hovering over him. Deciding that it's time to finish this, he prepares his final attack.

Spreading his arms out, an electrical mist of dark energy starts to surround him. He absorbs it all threw his hands and the second he does his entire upper body burst into purple flames. His formerly red eyes change to purple, and then threw his eyes he fires an electrical beam at Zero, hitting him head on. Zero yells in agony as he's hit by the powerful beam, and it throws him back, causing him to smash into the side of a nearby building, destroying half of it.

As the area goes up in smoke, the evil samurai god, Anubis, smiles wickedly behind his mask, believing to have finally destroyed the ultra. His triumph is short lived however, as the smoke begins to clear to reveal Zero ascending from the ashes, and not only that but in his ultimate form.

"What?!" Anubis exclaims in fury.

While flying towards the enemy, Zero quickly changes his eye sluggers to his Zero twin sword, and once close enough he uses it to fire its plasma spark slash. Surprised by this attack, Anubis quickly raises his arm to block it causing the slash to strike his upper harm. Before giving Anubis a chance to return the attack, Zero transforms his ultimate armor into a powerful device resembling a bow and arrow, and immediately fires at him hitting him square in the chest. The attack is effective as it actually causes Anubis to nearly double over. Infuriated by this warrior of light, Anubis then, in a fit of rage, takes both of his katana swords and yells a battle cry as he swings both of them at Zero one at a time. Zero easily dodges both swings, and then transforming out of his ultimate form, he fires his powered up Zero wide shot. At first the shot begins to work, and seems to cause Anubis to weaken. But somehow he begins to surpass the effects of the beam, and even manages to create some sort of deflection on his body that causes the beam to ricochet off him and then back to Zero. Zero had little chance to respond as his own beam fires right at him and hits him right in the chest.

Anubis quickly takes action and with his claw like hand snatches zero right from the sky. He then hurls Zero and smashes him right to the ground.

Upon hitting the ground at incredible force, Zero is still conscious, but in great pain. As he attempts to get up, he's quickly stopped by a sharp, stabbing pain in his shoulder. He falls back down while clutching his shoulder, which he now figures is broken. He wasn't able to give it much thought however, as he looked up to see Anubis towering over him. In the condition he was in Zero could do little but wait for what would come next.

Anubis let out an evil laugh as he lifted one of his swords, preparing to drive it right through the fallen warrior.

" _Is this really it for me?"_ Zero thought to himself as he prepared for the final blow.

It never came however, since just as Anubis was about to slam the piercing sword right through Zero's body, a seemingly tiny device struck the samurai and embedded itself in the side of his neck.

"Huh?" Anubis said turning his head to see what the low impact was. He then saw a round mechanical device attached to his upper shoulder, which had a red beeping light that was getting quicker by the second. It was then that he realized that that was not the attack. His fears were correct when the device immediately detonated in a large combustible explosion, one so strong that it badly burned both his shoulder and the side of his neck. He hollered at the scorching heat before turning to see who the assailant was.

Zero also looked up to see who it was, and was both shocked and delighted to the familiar space craft that he had seen once before.

"Who dares to interfere in my victory?!"

An amplified voice was then heard from the craft.

"I am General Xena of Planet Twilloh. I order you to stand down, or you will face the consequences!"

"This does not concern you! But I'll destroy anyone who gets in my way!" Anubis yells while firing an energy slash with his sword at the ship.

The craft quickly maneuvers out of range and before he could fire another, the ship suddenly disappears into thin air likely due to a cloaking device. Anubis is shocked by this and looks from side to side for the ship. It then appears behind him however, and fires another detonating device, hitting him in the back and instantly blowing up, causing him to fall to the ground in a heap of flames. Several more ships then appear out of nowhere and fire more bombs as well, blowing up one by one. Just as Anubis finally got to his knees, a dozen larger bombs are launched right at him at once, and just before they detonated, Anubis yelled his last words.

"Damn it!" and with that he exploded in a bundle of flames and was obliterated from the face of the planet.

 **Sorry, I took so long to update. I hope this chapter wasn't a disappointment.**

 **If any of you are wondering what will happen to the queen, I'll be dealing with that in the next chapter.**

 **Just in case anyone reading this hasn't read my story "A New Species," general Xena is a close friend of Ultraman Taro who he apparently contacted to help Zero. I'm sure most of you already know this, but I just wanted to be sure. There will be more of her in the next chapter too.**


	19. Chapter 19

Nephthys screamed in horror as she was forced to witness her most trusted servant, and planetary guardian, consumed by flames and demolished to mere ashes. The shocking scene caused her to become so distraught, that she momentarily withdrew from reality and stood in a completely frozen state. As she mentally began to comprehend what had just taken place, the feeling of loss and defeat was so devastating that she became emotionally distorted. She then collapsed to her knees and dug her fingernails into the rock pavement below her, as she began to cry hysterically. Never before has she sunk so low and faced such failure as this.

"How could this happen? How?!" she wailed in an almost incomprehensible voice." This can't be real, it just can't be!"

So as her tears continued to flow, along with a few muffled curses, her overwhelming sense of grief was soon replaced by one of hatred and anger. And at this point it was all directed towards one person. Zero. In her mind, all of this was his doing from the very beginning. He rejected every effort she ever made to reconcile with him (or at least her perverted version of it), and scorned and humiliated her in unspeakable ways. But this was the final straw.

"You'll pay for what you've done," she hissed under her breath. "If it's the last thing I do, I'll make you pay for this. All of it."

Soon after, the Twillohites succeeded in destroying the queen's evil henchman Anubis, Zero hurried back to check on his friends, while at the same time holding his fractured shoulder, though it didn't really seem like a big deal to him now, considering everything.

"Glenfire, Mirror Knight!" He yelled to get their attention, only to turn around and see all his friends well and unharmed.

"You guys Ok?"

"Of course we are, but how about you?" Jean-bot asked.

"Yeah, from the looks of things you took more of a beating than any of us did," Mirror knight said noticing the painful condition of Zero's shoulder, which looked dislocated.

"Well, what about me?!" Glenfire interjected recalling his previous injuries. "I took quite a fall too, ya know. Not that I still could've taken on that Goliath Samurai, though. But you just wanted to save all the glory for yourself didn't you?!"

"Actually most of the credit belongs to the Twillohites," Zero gestured towards the ships hovering over them.

"That's true," Mirror knight agrees.

"Yeah but, just who are those guys?" Jean-nine asked, confused as to why these strange people were even helping them, but figuring that Zero had the answer.

"Yeah!" Glenfire went on, "Just who are they to crash our party?"

"They're just some friends the Ultra brothers crossed paths with some months back. The Land of light must have summoned them for assistance."

"Not that we needed it," Glenfire said smugly crossing his arms "We would've had the situation under control in no time."

After mentally rolling his eyes at glenfire, Zero looked up to see a hatch opening up on the bottom of one of the Twillohite ships. Then out of it came someone standing on a flying like glider resembling a board. It quickly flew down towards where Zero and the others were and landed on the ground.

Zero for one already recognized who it was, but the others couldn't help but stare in curiosity as the unknown person stepped off the board. Her face was concealed by a black full face helmet, but it was still more than obvious that she was female. Her black leather tank top had a low cleavage, and clung to her figure. Her hand's had long black gloves that went half way up her arms and she had a silver band on each of her upper arms. Instead of pants, she wore a pair of tight leather shorts that exposed her long slim, blue colored legs. Her shoes were black high heel boots that went up to her knees, and she had a small firearm strapped to one of her upper legs.

Before anyone could say anything, she reached up and pulled off her helmet, which even left glenfire short for words. Her purple hair, which was much shorter now, came up just below her pointed ears with a section of it positioned so it hung over the side of her blue face with a pink streak going through it. Her eye makeup was thick, and was done in a way that it had a marking, resembling a dark purple lightning bolt, painted from the outer corner of her eye and down her cheek. Her lips were painted red and she even had a small piercing on the corner of her lower lip.

"Is everyone okay?" she asked the battered group.

"Yeah, thanks to you," Zero said stepping forward, "How did you know to come here?"

"Well, Tar-," she stopped herself before continuing," I mean the Ultra space Garrison, contacted our headquarters and asked us to come help you out."

"Well, it's a good thing you did," Jean-nine said," For a minute I thought we were done for."

Glenfire then awkwardly, coughed into his fist with the intent of catching Zero's attention.

"Um, Zero aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?" Glenfire asked eyeing the attractive female."And can she be our friend?" Glenfire then asked, earning odd glances from the others.

"Oh yeah, guys this is Xena," Zero introduced her.

"Nice meeting you, I'm Mirror Knight," Mirror knight gave her a respectful bow.

"And I'm Jean-bot, and this is my brother Jean-nine," Jean-bot gestured to his brother who nodded his head in return.

"Yeah and I'm Glenfire! So now that all the formalities are out of the way, how about your phone number?" he asked eagerly, stepping in front of Zero, who instantly grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back.

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" Glenfire asked, angered that his pass was interrupted.

"Forget it Glenfire, she's taken," Zero of course was referring to Taro, who he already knew had a thing for Xena, even though Taro didn't know that he knew.

"What?! You mean not only do you have to hog the spotlight, but you have to hog all the women too?!"

"What? That's not what , just forget it," Zero turned his attention back to Xena, "Do you think you can give us a ride back home? I think it would be faster than us trying to fly in this condition."

"Sure, just follow me," Xena said before stepping back on her glider, "We use transport portals now, so it shouldn't take long."

"Come on guys, let's go," Mirror knight said as they followed Xena up to the ship.

"Yeah, I can't wait to get out of here," Glenfire said, relieved that they were finally going home, "The princess is probably wondering what happened to us."

While the others made their way up to the ships entrance, Zero stayed behind on the planet's surface for a moment. Not that he wasn't extremely eager to get the heck out of this horror zone, but he just took a moment to realize how truly fortunate he is to have friends like them, who would even risk their lives to save him. This whole experience had truly been a rollercoaster ride from the very beginning, and he couldn't say he was sorry to see it end. After this he probably wouldn't wish for more excitement for long time.

"Hey, Zero what are you waiting for?!" Glenfire called down from the ship, wondering what the holdup was.

Focusing on the present again, Zero called back, "Coming!"

But someone wasn't just going to let him leave so easily.

Just before Zero was about to take off, he was suddenly stopped as someone wrapped their arm around his neck from behind. It took him less than a second to realize who it was and her sickening voice confirmed it.

"If I can't have you, nobody will," and with that the queen wasted no time and quickly plunged a full length sword into Zero's back.

"Zero!" all his friends witnessing the brutal act shouted in horror.

The queen then mercilessly pulled the sword out of Zero's body, but before she could enjoy her moment of triumph, she was suddenly shot in the arm by a firearm. She looked up just quick enough to see that the shooter was General Xena, but she wasn't given a chance to respond before another bullet hit her right in the chest, sending her to the ground and killing her.

Zero sunk to his knees, as he clutched his hand to his deadly wound that had gone right through to his chest. Blood was flowing from it so fast he was sure he'd die right here. The last thing he remembered was people calling his name and the sound of bullets being fired before he blacked out.


	20. Chapter 20

The last thing Zero remembered was hearing bullets being fired and the terrified calls of his friends, before blacking out from the loss of blood. And with his injuries as serious as they were it was likely he would die from profuse hemorrhage within mere minutes. He felt himself slip into unconsciousness thinking this was finally the end. But strangely at the same time, he experienced a sense of peace, knowing that if this was truly his fate he would accept it. At least he had spent the last years of his life helping and doing good for the people of the universe, giving some meaning to his existence. He'd rather have lived a short fulfilling life, than a long empty one.

But, after what seemed like an eternity of darkness, Zero saw a bright light as he finally opened his eyes. He couldn't make out his surroundings at first, but once his vision focused he saw that he was now in what looked like a hospital room.

He was alive.

Upon receiving the shock that he wasn't dead, Zero slowly tried to sit up, only to gasp as he felt a sharp pain shoot through his chest. He grunted in irratation as he quickly laid back down. He began grasping his chest where he had formerly been impaled, only to find that it had been mended with a bandage that went all the way around his thorax.

He was about to try and sit up again when he heard voices outside the door. He just listened for a moment trying to make out who they were, when he recognized one to be his dad. That immediately motivated him as he struggled to get up and finally made it to his feet. Once he did, however, the strain caused an instant surge of pain to rush to his upper body. He grabbed the bed post for support as he then slowly made his way to the door, all the while grunting with every step. He opened the door to see his dad, Ultraman, and Taro all standing together talking. Zero slowly approached them, as none of them had noticed him yet. Seven, soon turned his head and almost did a double take when he saw zero.

"Zero!" Seven quickly rushed to his son's side with a look of distress on his face. Thinking Zero was about to lose his balance, seven instinctively grabbed him by the shoulder in order to help support him. He quickly withdrew however as Zero hissed at the pressure, since it was the same shoulder he had broken previously.

"Zero, are you alright?" Taro asked walking closer with Ultraman following.

Zero didn't even answer that, since he didn't want to have to tell the truth. He merely shrugged in response.

"You were out for so long, we weren't sure you were ever going to wake up," Ultraman then pointed out to which Zero just sighed.

"Yeah, well, I'll be okay…eventually," Zero said sounding not all that confident as he continued to hold his broken shoulder.

"The others haven't stopped asking about you, since you got back," Seven said, "We'll ask them to come to the hospital when they get the chance."

"No need! We're already here!"

Upon hearing the all too familiar voice of glenfire, Zero and the others turned to see him, along with Mirror knight quickly approaching with General Xena closely behind.

"Zero your alright!" Mirror Knight exclaimed.

"Yeah, when we first got you here it looked like you were ready for the morgue," Glenfire said referring back to what were only mere hours ago. "But on the bright side, even if you had died, people who we know that died are always coming back to life every other week anyway."

"Thank you for that optimistic statement Glenfire," Seven said obviously being sarcastic.

"The fact is if it hadn't been for General Xena stopping Zero's bleeding, he would have died on the scene. We never would have gotten him here fast enough," Mirror knight said, fearing Zero would not have made it otherwise.

"Well, in that case I'd like to thank you General for all your help in saving my son," Seven gave her a half bow in gratitude. "It's very fortunate that Taro summoned you when he did."

Xena nodded in response, before turning to Taro.

"I have to get back to my ship. I've been absent long enough already. I just wanted to take this moment to say goodbye."

"I'm sorry you have to leave so soon," Taro said, reluctant to have her leave.

"I'm sure we'll cross paths again soon, so in the meantime I wish you a peaceful life."

"Sure," Taro then hesitantly reached out a hand in offering her a handshake.

She stared at it a moment before giving him an awkward look, which basically said _"seriously?"_

She took his hand however, and briefly shook it before walking off abruptly. Then after coughing awkwardly into his fist, Taro turned back to face the others only to be greeted by their odd looks.

"What?" Taro asked in confusion.

About a second later however, Taro suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. Just as he turned to see who it was, he was met with a shock as he felt Xena grab him by the shoulders and pulling him closer to her, firmly pressed her mouth against his in a long kiss. His whole body instantly tensed up, but relaxed after a moment. Those who witnessed the scene were struck with various reactions of confusion, disgust, and shock. It quickly ended however as Xena pulled away and with a look of satisfaction stepped back, before giving a wave and saying, "See ya!" She then dashed off down the hall on the way back to her ship and crew.

Later that evening after everyone had said their goodbyes and left, Zero remained alone in his hospital room, since Seven flat refused to let him go home to his own quarters until he was in better shape, despite Zero's protests. Once everyone was gone, he was glad to finally have some peace and quiet. He certainly needed a rest after the last few days, which were absolutely bizarre. After that he'd probably never complain of having nothing to do again.

It was late now, and most of the hospital staff was off shift, except for the critical section which luckily he wasn't in anymore, so at least he wouldn't have to be bothered with nurses constantly going in and out. Everything was calm and quiet so he was finally able to relax. Zero was just about to fall asleep for the first time in days (that is except for the numerous drugging scenarios he was forced to endure) when he thought he heard a light knock on the door. He listened for a moment but then figuring it was nothing he started to go back to sleep when he heard the knock again. Figuring it was probably a night nurse he groaned in annoyance and asked, "What is it now?"

The door opened, and Zero quickly sat up in surprise, as it was the last person he was expecting to see.

"Attea?" Zero questioned as she walked into the room, still being stunned to see her after everything that's happened.

Closing the door behind her, Attea slowly walked over to his bedside as she experienced a sense of relief that he was finally home safe and sound. Well…not exactly, since she heard he had nearly died that day, but nonetheless he was okay now, and that's what mattered.

"H-how are you feeling?" she slightly stuttered.

Zero chuckled as he said, "Been better, but it's gonna take more than a spoiled queen to put me down."

Attea's face instantly fell at that, and Zero quickly realized that she may not have heard all the details of what happened. Worried that she might get the wrong idea, Zero tried to think of a way to rephrase his words.

"Well, that is my abductors, um, tried to uh.."

"Zero, your father already told me everything."

Zero instantly went wide eyed at that.

"Everything?" he asked nervously.

"Yes. And it's okay," she said quickly to put him at ease. "It wasn't your fault."

Zero was unsure whether a small part of her deep down did blame him for what happened, but either way he was relieved that she was taking it so well. He would've hated to have her feel badly, because of that corrupt woman Nephthys, who in his mind couldn't even begin to compare to the girl standing right in front of him.

"I'm sorry," Zero said beginning to express his feelings of guilt, "for everything. I wish the whole thing never happened. I would've rather just let her kill me, than have her hurt you this way."

"Don't talk like that," Attea said taking his hand in hers. "You're not to blame. And I guess I can sort of understand why she did it."

Zero looked at her in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"I mean you are quite a catch after all," she said with a smile.

Zero was just about to get up to kiss her when he felt the sudden pain return to his chest and fell back down with a grunt. Atteas face instantly showed alarm.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"It's nothing I just.."

"Well that's what you get for trying to get up!" she shot back. "Honestly, do you ever listen at all? Can't you ever just take care of yourself for once? I mean, why do you always have to be- ah!" Attea gasped as Zero grabbed her by the arm and managed to pull her down right beside him with her free arm falling right across his chest.

"What do you think you're doing?! Are you out of your mind? What about your injuries? Don't you know that this could further harm your-," her protests were cut off as Zero's mouth met hers in a deep kiss.

She still wasn't having it however as she attempted to pull away and get up, but Zero remained persistent. He suddenly rolled over with him now on top of her, despite the uncomfortable pressure it put on his injuries. He just sucked it up however, since to him it was worth it. Attea still continued to struggle from underneath him, but she was cautious for fear of causing him further injury. She gasped has Zero's mouth moved from hers and down to her neck. A thought then suddenly struck her.

"W-what if someone comes in?"

Zero wasn't too concerned and knew she was just trying to use that as an excuse for him to let her up. But, Zero wasn't done, because he wanted to use this as an opportunity to get something off his chest that he wanted to do for a long time now. So he lifted his head up so he was looking at her right in the face before he said what he wanted to say ever since they knew they were serious about each other. Something he never had the chance to say because something was always getting in the way, whether it was his dad or an alien invasion, but finally that wasn't the case. This was his chance.

"Instead of answering your question…how about I ask you one instead?" he said in order to see her reaction, which was one of annoyance and frustration at his behavior. She didn't say anything however and waited for him to continue.

"What if we got married?"

To say Attea was surprised by this was an understatement. She was in all out shock! Words couldn't describe her emotions, and she was left utterly speechless. Only when she realized that Zero was still waiting for an answer did she finally manage to find her voice.

"What?" she asked in almost a whisper.

"What do you mean "what?"It's a pretty simple question," Zero seemed amused by her reaction, so he asked again. "Will you marry me?"

Realizing by the look on his face that he was serious, Attea felt an overwhelming sense of joy before finally blurting out, "Well, yes of course! Yes!" She then forgot all about the fact that they were in a hospital room after hours, and reached up and gave him the biggest kiss she could muster. Zero instantly responded, and the two remained in each other's embrace for many hours of the night, though their level of intimacy was not taken to the next level. They wanted to save that for their wedding day.

THE END

 **Just so you know the reason this took forever for me to update is because my laptop broke so I couldn't finish it for a long time. But I really hope you all enjoyed the story. It took me a really long time to finish.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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